Federal Judge Orders Continued Funding for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Federal judge Amy Berman Jackson has ruled that the Trump administration must continue funding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), rejecting efforts to starve the agency of its funds. The administration had argued that funding could not come from Federal Reserve earnings due to an Office of Legal Counsel memo. However, Jackson called this argument a manufactured workaround.
The ruling came as a result of a National Treasury Employees Union lawsuit, which led to an injunction preventing the dismantling of the CFPB and maintaining its funding. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this injunction and will hear the administration's broader bid to dismantle the agency in February 2026.
The decision arrives just days before the CFPB would have run out of funds to pay its employees. Since its establishment in 2011, the agency's funding has been maintained continuously, including during years when the Federal Reserve's interest expenses exceeded its earnings.
Senator Elizabeth Warren praised the ruling, stating that courts should block illegal attempts to close the agency. The White House did not comment on the decision. Since its inception, the CFPB has returned about $21 billion directly to consumers harmed by banks and large corporations.
