Overview

• The U.S. Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked the mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and ordered the rescission of over 1,400 termination notices.
• Gavin Kliger, a 25-year-old Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) aide, participated in the layoffs despite being warned by ethics attorneys about his $715,000 in prohibited investments in companies regulated by the CFPB.
• Ethics lawyers who had flagged Kliger’s stock holdings were among those fired, raising questions about conflicts of interest and accountability in the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the CFPB.
• The White House denies Kliger managed the layoffs, but court records and witness accounts suggest his active involvement, including pressuring staff to expedite termination notices.
• Critics argue the downsizing of the CFPB undermines consumer protections and benefits corporations, while the Department of Justice under Trump shows little interest in enforcing federal ethics laws.