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.
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.
At an emergency hearing this morning in National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought, Judge Amy Berman Jackson once again halted the layoffs of over 1,000 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The judge emphasized the need for a comprehensive record to determine whether the firings complied with the D.C. Circuit’s order from last week (discussed here).
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) is undergoing significant changes as the Trump administration implements sweeping layoffs just days after revising the Bureau’s regulatory priorities. According to reports, approximately 1,400-1,500 employees have received reduction-in-force notices, leaving the CFPB with just over 200 personnel to carry out its regulatory activities. This drastic reduction raises critical questions about the agency’s ability to effectively focus on its newly outlined priorities for 2025.
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a memo to staff outlining its new supervision and enforcement priorities for 2025.
As technology advances, so do the tactics of scammers. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released a data spotlight on the top text scams of 2024, revealing a significant increase in financial losses despite a decrease in the number of reports. Specifically, in 2024, reported losses to text scams reached $470 million, more than five times the amount reported in 2020. Due to a lack of reporting, this number reflects only a fraction of the actual losses.
On April 1, the American Arbitration Association (AAA) announced the launch of its new Consumer Mediation Procedures and Fee Schedule. According to the announcement, updates aim to simplify and make dispute resolution more accessible for consumers, particularly those who are self-represented and may be unfamiliar with the mediation process. Prior to the adopting the procedures, the AAA did not have any processes in place for explaining the benefits of mediation or disclosing the fees associated with using a AAA mediator.
On April 9, the White House issued a memorandum directing federal executive departments and agencies to repeal regulations deemed unlawful pursuant to certain U.S. Supreme Court decisions. This directive aims to address regulatory barriers that the Trump administration believes hinder economic growth and innovation. The memorandum implements Executive Order 14219, issued on February 19, 2025, which ordered the heads of all federal agencies to identify unlawful and potentially unlawful regulations within 60 days and begin plans to repeal them. Now, the administration is directing agencies to prioritize that review under 10 watershed Supreme Court cases, and to repeal regulations that are considered unlawful under those cases without public notice and comment, if possible.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) agreed to vacate its controversial credit card late fee rule in a joint motion for entry of consent judgment filed in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. CFPB yesterday. This significant move comes after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that the rule likely violated the Credit Card Accountability and Disclosure Act (CARD Act). The consent judgment marks a pivotal resolution in the case, with the CFPB acknowledging that the rule failed to allow card issuers to impose penalty fees that are “reasonable and proportional” to violations, as required by the CARD Act.
On April 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order partially staying the district court’s preliminary injunction in the ongoing legal dispute between the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This decision marks a significant development in the NTEU’s challenge against Acting Director Russell Vought’s actions, which the union claims are unconstitutional and violate the Dodd-Frank Act. The appellate court’s order addresses several key provisions of the district court’s injunction, setting the stage for an expedited appeal process.