HousingWireHousingWire
A U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C., cleared the way for mass layoffs of federal employees — including at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) — when he ruled Thursday that four labor unions that filed suit against the Trump administration needed to file a complaint with the Federal Labor Relations Authority instead.
This is one of four lawsuits filed by the National Treasury Employees Union agains the Trump administration since Jan. 20. Last week, a judge blocked layoffs at the CFPB in one of the other cases until a hearing set for March 3.
The ruling on Thursday sought to block the Trump administration from firing employees at eight federal agencies, including the CFPB and VA, following a raft of executive orders. According to reporting by Reuters, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C., said he did not have the power to hear the case.
The mass layoffs come as President Donald Trump has tasked Elon Musk and his unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with slashing the size of the federal government. The CFPB has been a particular target, with a series of interim directors shutting down much of the bureau’s functions and closing its headquarters.
More recently, former Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark Calabria was tapped for an interim role at the bureau, filling in while Trump’s pick for permanent director, Jonathan McKernan, awaits Senate confirmation. Calabria is also reportedly heading up an effort by Trump to bring all independent federal agencies under the control of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Thousands of federal employees have already received notice of layoffs or have been offered buyouts. The Trump administration announced it was cutting 50% of staff at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other reports claim that these cuts will include up to 40% of the staffers at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
A former HUD official who spoke with HousingWire and was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive plans still taking shape said that the layoffs could affect key programs that mortgage lenders and investors rely on. These include project-based rental assistance, Section 202 programs for seniors and even financial losses to the national mortgage insurance fund.
Read more:
Updated list of all Trump actions that affect housing
A timeline of what’s happening at the CFPB under Trump
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