On May 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) appeal concerning the vacated amendments to its Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts and Practices (UDAAP) Examination Manual. This dismissal, following a joint stipulation by the parties, aligns with the CFPB’s newly announced supervision and enforcement priorities for 2025.

As of April 27, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had not filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to appeal the Fifth Circuit’s decision vacating the Combating Auto Retail Scams Trade Regulation Rule (CARS Rule). The ruling, which was issued in response to a petition by the National Automobile Dealers Association and the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, challenged the procedural validity of the FTC’s rulemaking process. The court found that the FTC failed to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking as required leading to the vacating of the rule.

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order temporarily halting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) mass layoffs. The court granted an emergency motion to enforce or clarify its previous order, reinstating the preliminary injunction that prevents the CFPB from executing reductions in force (RIFs).

Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.” This order aims to eliminate the use of disparate impact liability in all contexts, emphasizing the importance of treating all citizens equally under the law and promoting a merit-based, colorblind society.

According to a recent report by WebRecon, court filings under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were all up for the month. Not only that, but everything except filings under the FDCPA were up over 2024.

This blog post was republished in insideARM on May 6, 2025.

On April 21, the U.S. Department of Education announced that its Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) will resume collections on defaulted federal student loans starting Monday, May 5th. This decision ends a collections pause that has been in place since March 2020. According to the announcement, the resumption of collections is intended to protect taxpayers from bearing the cost of federal student loans that borrowers undertook to finance their education.