A federal judge has indicated that she is leaning towards issuing a temporary injunction to block the Trump administration's plans to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a major consumer protection agency. Judge Amy Berman Jackson's decision comes after a two-day hearing in which witnesses testified about the agency's plans to reduce its staff by nearly 1,200 employees, leaving the agency unable to carry out its duties.

The CFPB, which handles consumer complaints about financial institutions and companies offering financial products, has been a target of the Trump administration's efforts to downsize and dismantle the agency. The administration has argued that the agency is unnecessary and that its functions can be absorbed by other agencies. However, critics argue that the agency plays a critical role in protecting consumers from financial harm and that its dismantling would leave a significant gap in consumer protection.

During the hearing, Judge Jackson expressed skepticism about the administration's claims that the agency's functions could be preserved even if it were downsized. She noted that the testimony of CFPB witnesses suggested that the agency's staff was being rapidly reduced, leaving it unable to carry out its statutorily required duties. The judge also expressed concern about the role of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the agency's downsizing, citing testimony that DOGE officials were involved in plans to rapidly cut the agency's staff.

The judge's decision is a significant blow to the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the CFPB. If the injunction is granted, it would temporarily block the administration's plans to downsize the agency, allowing it to continue carrying out its duties. The judge's decision is expected to be made later this month.

The CFPB has been a key agency in protecting consumers from financial harm, handling complaints about companies such as Elon Musk's X, which offers digital payment services. The agency's dismantling would leave a significant gap in consumer protection, leaving consumers vulnerable to financial scams and harm.

The case was brought by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and groups that rely on the CFPB's work, alleging that the agency's acting director, Russell Vought, is violating constitutional separation of powers by trying to dismantle an agency created by Congress. The Justice Department has defended the administration's actions, arguing that it never meant to prevent work explicitly required by law and that work could be preserved even if it's under the umbrella of a different agency.

However, the testimony of CFPB witnesses suggested that the agency's staff was being rapidly reduced, leaving it unable to carry out its duties. One witness, Alex Doe, a direct report of the agency's chief operating officer, Adam Martinez, testified that they were put in charge of the team organizing mass firings and described several meetings between the RIF team and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which advised on how to terminate roughly 1,200 of the agency's 1,700-person workforce in short order.

The judge's decision is a significant development in the ongoing battle over the CFPB's future. If the injunction is granted, it would temporarily block the administration's plans to downsize the agency, allowing it to continue carrying out its duties. The decision would also set a precedent for future challenges to the administration's efforts to dismantle agencies created by Congress.