U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in a March 28 opinion that the Trump administration couldn’t unilaterally shut down the CFPB, with the prospect being out of its jurisdiction. On Thursday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit paused Jackson’s halt. It clarified that its ruling didn’t regard the argument’s merits but rather allowed the courts more time to consider the matter.
A security officer works inside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau building headquarters on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
“The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the emergency motion for stay pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion,” the panel wrote.
The CFPB will remain open and operative during the period of review.
The bureau was one of the earliest and most controversial targets of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) founded the bureau after the 2008 financial crisis to help consumers. Critics argued that it drifted from its original purpose, becoming an opaque agency that abused its authority, pursuing targets such as a community-focused financial lending company.
One of its critics, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), introduced legislation in February to abolish it altogether, saying it had gone “rogue.”
