CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
On January 3, 2026, the Senate sent the nomination of Stuart Levenbach to be CFPB Director back to the President without acting on it—a move that would allow Russell Vought to remain acting head of the bureau through August 1.
President Trump nominated Levenbach, an Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as CFPB Director in November.… Continue Reading
In her December 30, 2025 opinion in National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought (which we blogged about here), Judge Amy Berman Jackson concluded that the CFPB may continue to draw funding from the Federal Reserve System even when the Federal Reserve, on a combined basis, is losing money. According to the court, the statutory phrase “combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System” in 12 U.S.C.… Continue Reading
In a case of first impression, in clarifying her injunction issued in the lawsuit brought by the National Treasury Employees Union and others challenging the planned reductions in force and other efforts to reduce functions at the CFPB, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the DC Federal District Court vigorously rejected the opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice (“OLC”) that the CFPB may not be funded by the Fed because (1) the Dodd-Frank Act provides that the CFPB may only be funded by the Fed out of “combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System”, (2) the term “combined earnings” means combined profits and not combined revenues and (3) the Federal Reserve System has incurred losses since September 2022.… Continue Reading
Charging that Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought has been attempting to close down the CFPB by any means necessary, Democratic Attorneys Generals (AGs) from 21 states and the District of Columbia have filed suit, asking a federal court to require Vought to seek State AGs file suit to force CFPB to request funding from the Federal Reserve funds from the Federal Reserve to operate the bureau. … Continue Reading
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has granted a request for an en banc rehearing in the National Treasury Employees Union’s (NTEU) and others’ challenge to the firing of more than 1,400 CFPB employees and the taking of certain other actions to curtail the operations of the CFPB.
The Plaintiffs sued the Administration, contending that its plan to lay off the employees at the CFPB and to take certain other actions is tantamount to an abolishment of the agency.… Continue Reading
As we previously reported, on November 10, 2025 the Tenth Circuit rendered its 2-1 decision in National Association of Industrial Bankers v. Weiser. It held that a loan is “made” for purposes of the opt-out provision in Section 525 of DIDMCA in both the state where the bank is located and the borrower’s state, meaning that Colorado’s usury limits will apply to interstate loans made to Colorado residents by out-of-state state-chartered depository institutions.… Continue Reading
Current and former Democratic members of Congress have told a federal court that the Trump Administration’s interpretation of the CFPB’s funding mechanism is at odds with Congress’ plan to provide the bureau with a stable, independent source of funding.
On December 5, Rise Economy, the National Reinvestment Coalition and the Woodstock Institute filed a lawsuit against the CFPB and its Acting Director Russell Vought in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California seeking declaratory and injunctive relief related to Vought’s determination not to seek funding from the Federal Reserve Board because of an opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).… Continue Reading
As we have previously reported, a lawsuit was brought early this year by the unions representing CFPB employees against Acting CFPB Director Vought and the CFPB in the DC District Court.
The Court months ago enjoined the CFPB from terminating some 1,400 employees and taking certain other actions in pursuit of Vought’s goal of minimizing the CFPB while the lawsuit is pending.… Continue Reading
On December 5, 2025, Rise Economy, the National Reinvestment Coalition and the Woodstock Institute filed a lawsuit against the CFPB and its Acting Director Russell Vought in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco) seeking declaratory and injunctive relief related to Vought’s determination not to seek funding from the Federal Reserve Board because of an opinion provided to the CFPB by the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice (“OLC”) that it would be unlawful for the CFPB to make such a request based on there being no “combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System.”… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court should abandon a 90-year-old precedent and decide that President Trump should be permitted to fire Rebecca Slaughter from the Federal Trade Commission without cause, Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Court on December 8 during oral arguments.
“I think broad delegations to unaccountable independent agencies raise enormous constitutional and real-world problems for individual liberty,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said.… Continue Reading
