Overview
- Acting Director Russell T. Vought on January 9 asked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to transfer $145 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2026.
- The filing in NTEU v. Vought confirms the request was made to comply with Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s December 30 order requiring the Bureau to seek necessary funds.
- Vought’s letter records his disagreement with the court’s interpretation of the statute but states he determined the amount pursuant to the order.
- Judge Jackson rejected the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel’s narrow reading of “combined earnings” and held the CFPB cannot create a self-inflicted funding lapse to avoid the injunction.
- The broader fight continues, with a D.C. Circuit en banc hearing set for February 24 and a multistate suit seeking to compel restoration of regular CFPB funding.