Attorneys for President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice have spent more time in court than out of it since Donald’s return to the White House earlier this year, where they are being forced to attempt to defend the president’s onslaught of increasingly unhinged and, frankly, downright hate-fueled executive orders, and it seems that each court appearance is becoming more humiliating than the last.
Trump’s Administration was back in court once again today, attempting to justify its decision to effectively dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The administration was sued by the union representing CFPB workers in an attempt to stop the CFPB from being cut in the crossfire of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn “cutbacks” that are rapidly spreading throughout the US federal government.
Today’s hearing was presided over by Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who did not hold back her concern that the agency will be “choked out of existence before I get to rule on the merits,” according to reporting from Politico’s legal reporter, Kyle Cheney.
Speaking directly to the Trump Justice Department attorney, Judge Jackson stated, “We can’t have edicts issued with people’s fingers crossed behind their backs.”
Bloomberg Law banking reporter Evan Weinberger delivered additional, real-time reporting on the hearing from a call-in line and noted just how poorly the court appearance was going for the Trump DOJ attorneys.
“Man, this is embarrassing for this Justice Department guy,” Weinberger commented.
At one point in today’s hearing, Judge Jackson pointedly questioned whether the Trump Administration objected to the CFPB’s stated mission of “protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices” — and it seems that is where things truly began to go downhill for Trump DOJ lawyers.
According to Weinberger, the DOJ attorney was forced to admit that they didn’t know, which led to “laughter ensuing” throughout the courtroom.
Washington Post reporter Andrew Ackerman additionally reported that “Justice Department attorneys were on the defensive for most of this 10 a.m. court hearing.” Jackson seemed “inclined to grant a preliminary injunction to prevent mass firings.”
Ultimately, the DOJ attorneys stated that the administration would comply with the court order but stated that it was “akin to wholesale supervision of the agency’s management.”
Ackerman reported that Judge Jackson responded to that accusation by noting that it is an interim oversight to “ensure the CFPB isn’t choked out of existence before ruling on the merits of the lawsuit.”
As it stands, Judge Jackson has not yet delivered any formal rulings on the matter.
Featured image via screen capture