“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. It includes judges nominated in both his first and second terms.
Judges Neomi Rao and Greg Katsas, each nominated by Donald Trump to the DC Circuit, split on whether to approve massive layoffs ordered by the Trump Administration to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). The third judge on the panel, Judge Cornelia Pillard who was nominated by President Obama, agreed that layoffs should not go forward until the issue is heard on the merits in mid-May. The April 2025 decision was in NTEU v Vought.
What happened in this case?
In the weeks following Trump's second inauguration, administration officials took action to dismantle the CFPB. In late March, federal district court judge Amy Berman Jackson barred the administration from issuing any notice of reduction-in-force (RIF) to any CFPB employee while litigation was ongoing. But on April 11, a divided panel of the DC Circuit partially stayed Jackson's order. Judges Katsas and Rao allowed the administration to issue a reduction in force to employees, but only after a particularized assessment that an employee is not necessary to the Bureau's statutorily-mandated duties.
Instead of fully complying with the court order, the Trump Administration mandated the firing of more than 90% or over 1400 of the Bureau’s employees. A federal district court ruled that this action was illegal and issued a preliminary injunction against it. The government nonetheless claimed that some of its actions to shut down the agency should go forward as the litigation proceeded, but the challengers strongly disagreed.
The same DC Circuit panel heard the appeal and ruled that no further firings should occur at the agency, at least for now. They explained that they had “accommodated” the government’s interest by speeding up the appeal, which is scheduled for oral argument on May 16. Judge Rao, however, dissented and argued that the majority’s order improperly “hamstrings” the Trump Administration.
Likely before the end of next month, more will surely happen in this case. How Trump Judges Rao and Katsas finally vote will likely determine the future of the CFPB and the millions of consumers they seek to protect. The case also illustrates the importance of our federal courts to health, welfare and justice and the significance of having fair-minded judges on the federal bench.