In New York on February 13, the Trump administration's actions reached a new level when a group of "term employees" at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received sudden termination notices. The termination letters arrived on Thursday evening, promptly ending the contracts of these full-time employees with end dates. Some employees were even cut off from IT system access before being officially notified of their termination.
The Office of Management and Budget, led by CFPB's acting director Russell Vought, along with the CFPB, did not respond immediately to requests for comment regarding the terminations. The exact number of employees affected by the firings was not immediately disclosed.
Overall, Trump's administration has been actively downsizing the federal workforce under the premise of government efficiency. However, this move has faced challenges as critics question the legality and ethics surrounding the firings, which seem to go beyond performance or misconduct reasons for dismissal.
In response to these actions, a CFPB employee union and organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the administration's efforts to dismantle the agency. The termination letters sent on February 13 were signed by Adam Martinez, the acting chief human capital officer at the agency.
The terminated employees, known as term employees, have contracts lasting from one to four years, with potential for extension. Their first year serves as a trial period during which the agency can terminate them at any time. Martinez's letters detailed the termination effective on February 13, 2025, and provided information on recourse if employees believed their dismissals were discriminatory or retaliatory in nature.
On a final note, the recent terminations at CFPB were part of a broader downsizing effort initiated by the Trump administration, which had previously directed the agency to halt "supervision and examination activities." This move affected key staff, including the Chief Technologist Erie Meyer, who reported the dismissal of a group of private-sector technologists delving into big tech matters, allegedly ousted by President Trump's decision.