Judge Blocks White House’s Attempt to Defund Consumer Watchdog Agency

Republicans have long criticized the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for what they say are politicized tactics targeting financial institutions.

A special police member monitors a protest, while inside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) building in Washington on Feb. 8, 2025. Nathan Howard/File Photo/Reuters

A federal judge ruled on Dec. 30 that the White House cannot lapse its funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a watchdog that has long drawn the ire of congressional Republicans.

In a ruling, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote that the CFPB should continue to receive its funding from the Federal Reserve despite the central bank operating at a loss. The Trump administration has argued that the CFPB should be dissolved because how it gets its funds is invalid.