On
Monday,
Judges
Cornelia
Pillard
and
Gregory
Katsas
reinstated
the
ban
on
mass
firings,
saying
it
was
necessary
to
preserve
legal
protections
for
workers
while
the
case
moves
through
the
courts.
In
a
dissent,
Judge
Neomi
Rao,
a
Trump
appointee,
said
the
ruling
“hamstrings
the
Executive
and
prevents
the

CFPB
from
downsizing
until
the
merits
of
the
appeal
are
resolved.”

The
move
is
a
blow
to
President
Donald
Trump’s
push
to
dramatically
restructure
the
CFPB,
potentially
whittling
its
workforce
down
to
as
few
as
200
employees.

Reuters
reported
that
agency
staff
have
warned
in
sworn
statements
that
such
deep
cuts
would
cripple
the
CFPB’s
operations.

HousingWire

exclusively
reported
last
week
that
the
cuts
would
see
some
mortgage-focused
divisions
cut
down
to
a
handful
of
staffers
(or
fewer).
Doing
so
would
push
the
regulatory
burden
onto
the
states,
attorneys
and
mortgage
compliance
pros
told
HousingWire.

The
CFPB
—
created
in
the
aftermath
of
the
2008
financial
crisis
and
originally
championed
by
Sen.
Elizabeth
Warren
—
has

drawn
criticism
from
the
Trump
administration,
as
well
as
from
some
in
Silicon
Valley
and
Wall
Street,
who
contend
that
the
agency
oversteps
its
regulatory
mandate.

The
CFPB
has
had
several
shakeups
since
the

Trump
administration
assumed
control
of
the
agency.
The
Trump
administration
has
moved
to
fire
large
numbers
of
staff,
with
both
Trump
and
billionaire
adviser
and
DOGE-leader
Elon
Musk
advocating
for
the
agency’s
elimination.

In
February,
acting
CFPB
Director
Russell
Vought
instructed
agency

staff
to
stop
all
work
“unless
expressly
approved
by
the
Acting
Director
or
required
by
law.”
In
early
March,
CFPB
employees
were
told
to
continue
working
on

“statutorily
required
work.”

The
administration
has
since
shifted
its
stance,
saying
the
CFPB
will
remain
in
place
but
with
a
significantly
reduced
staff.

Last
month,
a
trial
court
temporarily
blocked
the
mass
layoffs.
The
appeals
court
has
now
revised
that
decision,
permitting
the
CFPB
to
proceed
with
layoffs
only
after
a
“particularized
assessment”
demonstrates
that
the
employees
in
question
are
not
essential
to
the
agency’s
legally
mandated
duties.

After
April
17’s
attempted
purge
of
nearly
1,500
workers,

Judge
Amy
Berman
Jackson scheduled
a
last-minute
hearing
the
following
day
that
temporarily
blocked
the
layoffs
and
prevented
the
agency
from
cutting
off
the
employees’
computer
access
as
planned.

The
CFPB
did
not
immediately
reply
to

HousingWire’s
request
for
comment.