Author Archives: Jeff Sovern

John Lewis blog post about enforcing the payday lending rule

Here at the Yale Journal of Regulation Notice and Comment blog. John Lewis is Deputy Legal Director at Governing for Impact. Excerpt: Much like the Trump Administration’s attempt to “dismantle and disable the agency entirely,” the administration’s latest effort to prevent CFPB from enforcing vital consumer protections is unlawful. Affected parties—those who stand to benefit from the […]

District Court accuses administration officials of “thumbing their nose at both this Court and the Court of Appeals” and enjoins CFPB Layoffs

Here is an excerpt from the Judge Jackson’s order: Given the scope and speed of the agency’s action, the apparent lack of consultation with the heads of the statutorily mandated agency components involved, and the troubling description of the RIF meetings set forth in plaintiffs’ declarations, the Court has significant grounds for concern that the […]

After CFPB issues memo about its priorities, it fired 1400 employees

Last Friday, the DC Circuit issued an order saying the CFPB could conduct reductions in force only “after a particularized assessment.” Last night, the CFPB issued a memo identifying supervision and enforcement priorities. Today it announced that it was laying off many employees–1400 according to Wired’s story, The CFPB Has Been Gutted. (thanks to Craig Cowie […]

DC Circuit limits District Court’s CFPB Order

The order is here. Judge Jackson’s order for the district court is here. The DC Circuit is allowing the firing of CFPB employees whom the Bureau has determined “after a particularized assessment, to be unnecessary to the performance of defendants’ statutory duties.” It remains to be seen what a particularized assessment is (at one point […]

Kate Berry: CFPB preliminary injunction likely modified by appeals panel

Here in the American Banker. Berry wrote: “The judges appeared to be leaning toward remanding the case back to the district court with some conditions that would allow the administration to fire some employees or put them on administrative leave.” According to Berry, the government’s lawyer, Eric D. McArthur, argued that “[t]he district court does […]

Law360: McKernan to be confirmed as CFPB director in May; congressional GOP leaders plan to limit CFPB

So Jon Hill reports in Trump’s CFPB Pick Could Be Confirmed By May, Scott Says. I still don’t know why the Senate’s confirmation vote on McKernan has been delayed. As for congressional Republicans’ other plans for the Bureau, Hill reports: [House Financial Services Chair French] Hill said that the general preference among his Republicans colleagues is […]

Kate Berry: DOJ says CFPB stop-work order maintains statutory functions

The American Banker’s Kate Berry reports on the DOJ reply in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals appeal from Judge Jackson’s preliminary injunction ordering that the CFPB stay open. Here’s a quote: “Once agency leadership recognized that employees had inferred the agency was winding down, it acted to dispel that misimpression,” the DOJ said, contradicting […]