Judge previously blocked president from laying off 1,500 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
A federal appeals court set the stage for the Trump administration to resume firings at the top US consumer watchdog, ruling in a split decision that a lower court lacked jurisdiction in temporarily blocking the mass layoffs.
The ruling will not take immediate effect, the court said on Friday, to allow lawyers representing workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and consumer groups to file for a review of the case by the full circuit court of appeals for the District of Columbia.
The ruling is the latest twist in the legal battle over the fate of the CFPB, as the Trump administration has tried to fire 1,500 of the agency’s 1,700 employees. The agency has returned more than $21bn to US consumers since its founding.
Russell Vought, director of the office of management and budget and the architect of Project 2025, the rightwing blueprint drawn up ahead of Trump’s re-election, was appointed acting director of the CFPB in February.
