Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

A federal judge, Amy Berman Jackson, seems likely to temporarily block the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), fearing a delay could leave nothing for the court to save. The CFPB has been facing plans for a mass reduction-in-force (RIF) of nearly 1,200 employees, with the government trying to demonstrate that early chaos at the bureau had settled into tentative stability.

However, Judge Jackson was dubious about the government's claims, stating that a lot of evidence supports a decision that the same people who were discussing RIFs are still discussing RIFs. The judge has asked the government to extend an agreement to pause future terminations while she deliberates on a longer-term preliminary injunction.

FTC Trial Against Amazon

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked a federal judge to delay its consumer protection trial against Amazon by two months, citing staffing losses and a potential office move that could hinder its ability to prepare. The FTC recently terminated around a dozen probationary staffers and may need to move to a new office, which could disrupt its preparation for the trial.

The trial, which was initially scheduled to begin on September 22nd, alleges that Amazon used design tricks known as dark patterns to deceive millions of customers into signing up for its Prime subscription and made it difficult to unsubscribe. The FTC is seeking to delay the trial to give itself more time to prepare, but Amazon's lawyers are pushing back against the request.