Federal Union Moves Court to Restore CFPB Funding

A federal employees’ union has turned to the courts in an urgent bid to keep the nation’s top consumer watchdog from slipping into a funding freeze. The move comes just weeks after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warned its operational cash could run out by the end of the year.

In a filing submitted Sunday, the National Treasury Employees Union and other plaintiffs challenged the Trump administration’s claim that it cannot legally supply the bureau with new funds. They argued that officials are misinterpreting the law and attempting to bypass an earlier court order that blocked efforts to dismantle the agency.

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has pushed to shrink the CFPB’s footprint. His administration installed budget chief Russell Vought as acting director, who then pursued aggressive staffing cuts and halted most bureau activities. Although his plan to fire a majority of employees is tied up in litigation, critics say routine enforcement and consumer protection work has largely stalled.

At the center of the dispute is the CFPB’s unique funding structure. Unlike most federal agencies that rely on congressional appropriations, the bureau is financed through the Federal Reserve to shield it from political pressure. Earlier this month, however, the CFPB told the court that it could not request additional funds because the law requires the money to come from the Fed’s “combined earnings”—earnings the central bank currently lacks after operating at a loss.

The union’s filing sharply rejected that interpretation, insisting it contradicts both the text and intent of the statute that created the agency. The motion warns that without immediate action, key consumer protection functions could grind to a halt just as the year closes.

The CFPB’s funding model survived a constitutional challenge at the Supreme Court last year, but the current dispute has once again placed the agency’s future operations before a federal judge.