Acting Director Russell Vought has paused a plan being challenged in federal court to fire two-thirds of employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) so that his potential successor can weigh the proposed reduction in force (RIF) against agency needs.

Notice of the restructuring pause emerged Thursday in court filings related to an ongoing civil lawsuit between the CFPB and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents bureau employees, and five other plaintiffs. They allege that plans to terminate as much as 90% of the CFPB’s workforce amounts to an unlawful attempt to dismantle the regulatory agency, which was established by Congress.

Attorneys for the defendants and plaintiffs jointly requested a partial stay of the court proceedings related to the RIF plan, agreeing that Vought’s replacement should be given the opportunity to decide on personnel matters. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted the motion on Friday, the court docket shows.

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Brian Johnson, the former deputy director of the CFPB during the first Trump administration, was nominated in early June to replace Vought when his term as acting director expires in early August. Vought also oversees the White House budget office.

Johnson received strong backing from mortgage industry groups following President Donald Trump’s announcement of his nomination in early June. Should he achieve U.S. Senate confirmation for the top CFPB job, the decision of whether to proceed with mass firing plans currently held up in court will be his.

“The parties agree that Mr. Johnson, if confirmed, should be given the opportunity to review the 2026 RIF Plan and decide whether he would like to pursue it,” stated the joint status report and motion.

A revised RIF plan submitted by Vought in April amid court proceedings would have cut CFPB staff from 1,174 employees in 2026 to 556 next year, or by about two-thirds.

But in late June a panel of Washington, D.C., circuit court judges upheld a lower court’s injunction preventing Vought from conducting any mass layoffs while the NTEU civil lawsuit proceeds.

The circuit judges remanded the case back to Judge Jackson for a final decision, while also denying CFPB requests for an expedited decision. A series of related efforts by Vought to defund the bureau were also blocked in recent months.

What remains to be decided by Jackson — beyond allegations Vought intended to dismantle the bureau through mass terminations — is whether the revised restructuring proposal should modify her temporary injunction. But that question only remains relevant if Johnson becomes the Senate-confirmed director and elects to pursue bureau restructuring as proposed.

According to the court docket, attorneys for both sides will be required to file an updated joint status report within two days of a new CFPB director receiving Senate confirmation. If confirmation doesn’t occur by Jan. 3, 2027, the parties are required to file a report the following day, advising the court of their “position or positions as to whether the stay should expire or be extended.”