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Trump administration firing hundreds of FAA workers

Boyd Group International President and aviation expert Mike Boyd argues that there is a ‘major problem’ in the aviation industry on ‘Mornings with Maria.’

Hundreds of workers at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been laid off despite rising concerns about understaffing, as the Trump administration seeks to rein in federal spending.

David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, said in a statement that several hundred probationary employees were notified Friday evening by messages from an “exec order” Microsoft email address, not an official government email address. The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists is the union that represents the employees.

“Troubled” by the decision, Spero expected more employees to be notified over the weekend and believes it’s possible that some may even be “barred from entering FAA buildings,” on Tuesday.

RECOVERY EFFORTS UNDERWAY AFTER AMERICAN AIRLINES JET, MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDE MIDAIR NEAR DC

“These are not nameless, faceless bureaucrats. They are our family, friends and neighbors. They contribute to our communities. Many military veterans are among them. It is shameful to toss aside dedicated public servants who have chosen to work on behalf of their fellow Americans,” he added.

The control tower at the Reagan National Airport. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the aviation safety organization in the U.S. that represents nearly 20,000 workers, said in a statement Monday that it was “analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and our members,” according to The Associated Press.

FOX Business reached out to the Trump administration for comment.

Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander posted on LinkedIn that he was among those who were fired, The Associated Press reported.

“My unlawful termination from my national security critical position with the National Defense Programs of the FAA – less than a week after DOGE got upset that I criticized Tesla and Twitter on my personal Facebook page – and on my personal time,” Spitzer-Stadtlander posted on the platform.

An air traffic control tower at Miami International Airport in Miami on May 9, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

He said that “the mass firings of hardworking Federal workers are unlawful” and that “retaliatory firings of national security critical workers and FAA air traffic control specialists are dangerous. We must make our voices heard. This is not okay.”

The firings come amid calls to ramp up staffing in the air traffic control system and weeks after a U.S. Army Black Hawk collided with an American Airlines regional jet on Jan. 29 in what was the deadliest U.S. air disaster in more than 20 years. Both aircraft fell into the Potomac River after the collision. Sixty-seven people were killed.

TRUMP FIRES 17 GOVERNMENT WATCHDOGS AT VARIOUS FEDERAL AGENCIES

The sun flares next to the sign marking the location of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) headquarters on Feb. 9, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (J. David Ake/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association acknowledged the “chronic understaffing” of the air traffic control system earlier this month, saying that focusing on this issue as well as “modernizing the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure, would better serve the safety and reliability of the aviation system.”

The Trump administration already fired the head of the Transportation Security Administration and gutted the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, which advised on aviation security matters, including the development, refinement and implementation of policies, programs, rulemaking and security directives pertaining to aviation security.

The group was established in 1989 after a terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103.

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Shortly after his re-election, Trump also ordered the Transportation secretary and FAA administrator to immediately stop Biden-era diversity hiring programs and return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring.

February 17, 2025
Amazon workers in North Carolina vote against unionizing

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Amazon workers in North Carolina have voted against a proposal to unionize, a win for the retail giant in its fight against organized labor at its facilities.

About 4,300 employees at an Amazon fulfillment center in Garner, a suburb of Raleigh, were eligible to cast ballots in last week’s voting to decide whether to join a grassroots labor organization called Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, the National Labor Relations Board said.

Amazon workers voted at the warehouse nearly 3-to-1 against joining former and current Amazon workers in the independent union.

The federal labor agency said 2,447 workers voted against unionizing while 829 voted in favor of joining the union.

AMAZON INCREASES AD SPENDING ON X IN MAJOR REVERSAL: REPORT

An Amazon spokeswoman said Saturday that the company already offers workers safe and inclusive workplaces and competitive pay. ( Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images, File / Getty Images)

An Amazon spokeswoman said Saturday that the company already offers workers safe and inclusive workplaces and competitive pay, items in line with what most unions request.

“We’re glad that our team in Garner was able to have their voices heard, and that they chose to keep a direct relationship with Amazon,” Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said in a statement.

Amazon warehouse workers in Garner, N.C., voted against joining an organized labor union last week. (Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

AMAZON TO PAY $4M TO SETTLE SUIT ACCUSING COMPANY OF STEALING TIPS FROM DRIVERS

Amazon’s efforts to stop organized labor from forming at its facilities haven’t always been successful.

Wolf Financial chief strategy officer Shay Boloor analyzes Amazon and discusses the demand for A.I. on ‘Making Money.’

Last month, workers at a Whole Foods location in Philadelphia made history as the first group to successfully unionize under the grocery chain, which is owned by Amazon.

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In 2022, Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, N.Y., voted to unionize. Amazon has yet to recognize the election result or negotiate with organizers over a contract.

February 17, 2025
Duffy says SpaceX workers will visit Air Traffic Control System Command Center

SpaceX workers will visit the Air Traffic Control System Command Center on Monday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted in a Sunday post on X, in which he also mentioned former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with whom he recently engaged in a social media spat.

“America deserves safe, state-of-the-art air travel, and President Trump has ordered that I deliver a new, world-class air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world,” Duffy declared, noting that he’d welcome assistance from American developers or businesses.

“To do that, I need advice from the brightest minds in America. I’m asking for help from any high-tech American developer or company that is willing to give back to our country.

SEAN DUFFY TELLS HILLARY CLINTON TO ‘SIT THIS ONE OUT’ AFTER SHE CHIMES IN ON HIS DOGE ANNOUNCEMENT

Left: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks to reporters about the collision of an American Airlines flight with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C.; Right: Hillary Clinton at the Navalny Screening held at the Museum of Modern Art on Jan. 30, 2025 in New York, N.Y. (Left: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Right: Lexie Moreland/WWD via Getty Images)

“Tomorrow, members of @elonmusk’s SpaceX team will be visiting the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in VA to get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.”

He then brought up Clinton.

“Because I know the media (and Hillary Clinton) will claim Elon’s team is getting special access, let me make clear that the @FAANews regularly gives tours of the command center to both media and companies.”

SENATE CONFIRMS TRUMP PICK SEAN DUFFY FOR TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY

In the post on Sunday, Duffy also said that he will visit the FAA Academy this week.

“Later in the week, I will travel to the FAA Academy in Oklahoma to meet with air traffic controller instructors and students to learn more about their education and how we can ensure that only the very best guide our aircrafts,” he noted.

“My door at @USDOT is open to any and all patriotic developers or companies who want to help our country in this incredible, game-changing mission. I hope to hear from any company committed to ushering in America’s golden age of travel!”

President Donald Trump tapped business magnate Elon Musk to spearhead the Department of Government Efficiency, an effort to uncover federal government waste, fraud, and abuse.

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY REASSURES PUBLIC ABOUT AIR TRAVEL SAFETY AFTER DEADLY CRASH: ‘SAFEST FORM OF TRAVEL’

Left: Sean Duffy, US secretary of transportation, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025; Right: In this photo illustration a SpaceX logo seen displayed on a smartphone (Left: Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Right: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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“The safety of air travel is a non-partisan matter. SpaceX engineers will help make air travel safer,” Musk wrote in response to Duffy’s tweet.

Earlier this month, Clinton and Duffy engaged in a back and forth on X after Duffy noted that the DOGE team would help upgrade the aviation system.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

February 17, 2025
IRS to slash thousands of workers off the payroll: report

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reportedly cutting thousands of probationary workers as tax season ramps up, according to The Associated Press.

The announcement comes just days after the Trump administration instructed agencies to fire most probationary workers who have not secured civil service protection.

The layoffs could potentially impact hundreds of thousands of people, although the exact number has not yet been confirmed, the AP reported.

The Associated Press reported thousands of IRS employees will be fired.

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE

In addition to the probationary cuts, President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 29 that federal employees would be fired if they did not return to in-person work by early February.

A buyout offer, which has been extended, has already been accepted by about 65,000 employees.

The Associated Press reported IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season, which began on Jan. 27, are not eligible for the buyout until after the taxpayer filing deadline, according to a letter sent recently to IRS employees.

The IRS said in January Americans have benefitted from increased funding. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

LAWMAKERS FROM STATE WITH MOST FEDERAL WORKERS PER CAPITA WARN AGAINST TRUMP BUYOUT BID

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is tasked with eliminating wasteful government spending and increasing efficiency, aims to cut $2 trillion from the federal government budget by eliminating programs and trimming the federal workforce.

In January, the IRS announced it was “working to continue the success of the 2023 and 2024 tax filing seasons made possible with additional resources.”

The Biden administration’s Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act devoted $80 billion to hire 87,000 new IRS agents, according to a September 2023 report from the House Oversight Committee.

The oversight committee claimed the funds were used to employ agents that specifically targeted middle-class Americans.

Former President Joe Biden provided $80 billion in additional funding to the IRS. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The past two filing seasons saw levels of service at roughly 85% and wait times averaging less than 5 minutes on the main phone lines, according to a statement from the IRS in January. There was also a significant increase in the number of taxpayers served at Taxpayer Assistance Centers nationwide.

“This has been a historic period of improvement for the IRS, and people will see additional tools and features to help them with filing their taxes this tax season,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel wrote in the statement. “These taxpayer-focused improvements we’ve done so far are important, but they are just the beginning of what the IRS needs to do. More can be done with continued investment in the nation’s tax system.”

The IRS expects to receive more than 140 million tax returns, according to the AP.

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The IRS and Department of Treasury did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, as of Saturday night.

Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.

February 16, 2025
President Donald Trump’s buyout offer to federal workers restored by judge

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A federal judge restored President Donald Trump’s deferred resignation program for federal workers in a decision Wednesday.

The deferred resignation program, also known as the administration’s “fork in the road” offer, asked government workers to stay or leave after Trump required them to return to their offices shortly after his inauguration. The legal group Democracy Forward had filed a lawsuit over the program on behalf of labor unions that represent thousands of employees.

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole of Massachusetts made the ruling in favor of the White House Wednesday evening. In his decision, he wrote that the plaintiffs in the case “are not directly impacted by the directive” and denied their case on that basis.

“[T]hey allege that the directive subjects them to upstream effects including a diversion of resources to answer members’ questions about the directive, a potential loss of membership, and possible reputational harm,” O’Toole wrote.

TRUMP TO SIGN MEMO LIFTING BIDEN’S LAST-MINUTE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20. (Getty Images)

“The unions do not have the required direct stake in the Fork Directive, but are challenging a policy that affects others, specifically executive branch employees. This is not sufficient.”

Additionally, the judge wrote that his court “lacks subject matter jurisdiction to consider the plaintiffs’ pleaded claims,” noting similar cases where courts were found to have lacked authority.

“Aggrieved employees can bring claims through the administrative process,” O’Toole said. “That the unions themselves may be foreclosed from this administrative process does not mean that adequate judicial review is lacking.”

In a statement to Fox News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the decision “the first of many legal wins for the President.”

“The court dissolved the injunction due to a lack of standing,” Leavitt said. “This goes to show that lawfare will not ultimately prevail over the will of 77 million Americans who supported President Trump and his priorities.”

‘GET BACK TO WORK’: HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK IN 1ST HEARING OF NEW CONGRESS

President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Feb. 6 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) began emailing more than 2 million federal civilian employees offering them buyouts to leave their jobs shortly after Trump’s inauguration. The offers quickly outraged labor leaders, and the president of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) called the offers “shady,” claiming the deals “should not be taken seriously.”

“The offer is not bound by existing law or policy, nor is it funded by Congress,” NFFE National President Randy Erwin said. “There is nothing to hold OPM or the White House accountable to the terms of their agreement.

“Federal employees will not give in to this shady tactic pressuring them to quit. Civil servants care way too much about their jobs, their agency missions and their country to be swayed by this phony ploy. To all federal employees: Do not resign.”

Republican attorneys general previously signaled support for Trump’s program, writing in an amicus curiae brief Sunday that a challenge to the constitutionality of the order “would inevitably fail.”

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole of Massachusetts made the ruling in favor of the White House Wednesday evening in Boston. (Reuters/Lauren Owen Lambert)

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“Courts should refrain from intruding into the President’s well-settled Article II authority to supervise and manage the federal workforce,” the filing said. “Plaintiffs seek to inject this Court into federal workforce decisions made by the President and his team. The Court can avoid raising any separation of powers concerns by denying Plaintiffs’ relief and allowing the President and his team to manage the federal workforce.”

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

February 13, 2025
Australian health care workers threaten Israeli man, claim to have killed Jews in their care

Two Australian healthcare workers are being investigated after threatening to kill an Israeli man on camera, claiming they had previously killed Jews in their care.

The man and woman, who said they were doctors, spoke with the man via Chatrouletka, a website where strangers are matched internationally to have conversations.

After the Israeli man revealed his nationality, the female worker said “it’s Palentine’s country, not your country you piece of s—,” according to the video.

Skyline of Sydney, Australia, which is the capital of New South Wales (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images) (Getty )

JEWISH CHILDREN, TEENS VIOLENTLY ATTACKED IN LONDON: ‘STREETS ARE NO LONGER SAFE’

As the Israeli man asked for peace, the conversation escalated, and the woman said “when the time comes, I want you to remember my face, so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death.”

The pair went on to say they wouldn’t treat the man, and would kill him if he came to their hospital.

The man in scrubs said “you have no idea how many Israelis came to this hospital and…,” while sliding his arm across his neck in a throat slashing motion.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (centre) gives an address to the Leaders’ Plenary during the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Australia, March 6, 2024. (Joel Carrett/Pool via Reuters/ File Photo)

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns confirmed the two individuals are workers at Bankstown Hospital.

Minns and Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the pair were identified quickly and were “stood down” by NSW authorities.

“They have rightly been referred to the NSW Police for criminal investigation,” Albanese wrote in a statement Tuesday on X. “Individuals found to have committed criminal antisemitic acts will face the full force of our laws.”

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 06: Members of the Synagogue recover items from the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 06, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. An arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne forced congregants to flee as flames engulfed the building early on Friday morning. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident as an antisemitic act, emphasizing that such violence at a place of worship is unacceptable in Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Albanese described the comments as “vile,” and condemned the healthcare workers’ actions.

“The antisemitic video circulating today is disgusting,” he wrote. “The footage is sickening and shameful. These antisemitic comments, driven by hate, have no place in our health system and no place anywhere in Australia.”

A synagogue was fire-bombed in Melbourne on Dec. 6, which authorities are now investigating as a likely terrorist attack. Other reports indicate cars have been set aflame and buildings have been vandalized in Sydney Jewish communities.

A member of the Jewish community recovers an item from the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 06, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. An arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne forced congregants to flee as flames engulfed the building early on Friday morning. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident as an antisemitic act, emphasizing that such violence at a place of worship is unacceptable in Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images) (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images))

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) reported more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents in Australia since Palestinian militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Data was collected between Oct. 1, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Alexander Ryvchin, ECAJ co-chief executive officer, said members of the community have felt unsafe at Australian hospitals.

COLUMBIA GROUP’S ANTISEMITIC NEWSPAPER DRAWS OUTRAGE FROM NY LAWMAKER, AS UNIVERSITY INVESTIGATES

“Hospitals are a place where people should never feel unsafe,” Ryvchin said. “It’s the exact contrary. People should feel entirely comfortable that they’ll be treated based on their condition and humanity, not in the way that we saw in that video.”

He added the incident was the “tip of the iceberg,” and he believes there are many Australians with the same ideology.

Members of the local Jewish community look at the damage of the arson attack at the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 06, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. An arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne forced congregants to flee as flames engulfed the building early on Friday morning. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident as an antisemitic act, emphasizing that such violence at a place of worship is unacceptable in Australia. (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

“Antisemitism has sadly taken root in Australia, and we need to expunge it root and branch,” Ryvchin said. “There need to be consequences.”

On Wednesday, Australia enacted a hate crimes bill imposing minimum mandatory penalties for certain hate-related crimes, including six years for terrorist offenses, three years for financing terrorism and one year for displaying hate symbols.

“There have been similar instances of such behavior in Sydney and Perth where perpetrators have been convicted and given only a token fine,” the ECAJ wrote in a statement posted on its website. “That is also unacceptable because perpetrators come to regard such fines as merely the cost of “doing business” and not as a real deterrent.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted on X after the video went viral online. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

Though it has faced more intolerance, the Jewish population of Australia is substantially smaller than the Muslim population, which accounts for 3.2%, according to previous reporting. Jews account for just 0.4% of the population.

The Australian Federal Police was previously tasked with conducting an operation that would “focus on threats, violence, and hatred” targeting the Jewish community, Fox News Digital reported.

In addition, the Prime Minister allocated $25 million, about $15 million in the U.S., beginning in 2022 to increase security for Jewish organizations, according to a Reuters report. He also took a stand against hate speech and banned the Nazi salute.

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Fox News’ Beth Bailey contributed to this story.

Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.

February 12, 2025
Oregon congresswoman determined to protect federal workers with Stop Musk Act

DOGE backup: Trump’s latest executive order

Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich shares President Donald Trump’s latest executive order to ‘significantly’ reduce the federal workforce on ‘Special Report.’

An Oregon congresswoman is determined to protect federal workers from possible retaliation by introducing new legislation that focuses on “federal workers who stand up against Elon Musk’s grotesque seizure of critical government agencies.”

Representative Maxine Dexter has proposed the “Stop Musk Act” which states, “No Federal employee may be retaliated against, including any retaliation occurring on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, for resisting, circumventing, or preventing Elon Musk or individuals he oversees from taking unlawful or unconstitutional actions relating to Federal agencies.”

The bill addresses, what Dexter alleges, is Musk’s recent seizing of control of the U.S. Department of Treasury’s payment system, exposing Oregonian’s personal financial information, shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) putting the lives of millions of people at risk.

PRESIDENT TRUMP PREDICTS ELON MUSK WILL FIND ‘HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS’ IN WASTE IN NEXT DOGE DIRECTIVES

The ‘Stop Musk Act’ states federal employees who resist, circumvent, or prevent Musk’s takeover would be protected against any present or future retaliation for their efforts. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

She alleges that the billionaire has “the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) undermining our work to combat the climate crisis. This is only the beginning. Under this legislation, federal employees who resist, circumvent, or prevent Musk’s takeover would be protected against any present or future retaliation for their efforts.”

The bill comes as Musk, along with the Department of Government Efficiency, has forced leave of U.S. Agency for International Development staffers.

“The world’s richest man should not have the power to unilaterally dismantle the federal government and the critical services it provides Oregonians. Federal employees are at the forefront of fighting Elon Musk’s power grab, and we must protect them.

The bill comes as Musk, along with the Department of Government Efficiency, has forced leave of U.S. Agency for International Development staffers. ( Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

TRUMP DEFENDS MUSK’S DOGE AMID DEMS’ RESISTANCE EFFORTS | FOX NEWS VIDEO

President Trump continues to defend DOGE’s work alongside Musk and has predicted that he will find billions in fraud and abuse. Meanwhile, his actions have been met with outrage from some Democrats.

“I’m going to tell him very soon… to go check the Department of Education. He’s going to find the same thing. Then I’m going to go into the military. Let’s check the military. We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse, and the people elected me on that.”

Trump and Musk have asked federal workers to leave their jobs, and even offered a buyout to some, giving them the opportunity to quit and still get paid until Sept. 30.

The bill comes as Musk, along with the Department of Government Efficiency, has forced leave of U.S. Agency for International Development staffers. (Fox News)

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Dexter says she is concerned as thousands of federal workers in Oregon are voicing their opinions about cuts to federal agencies.

“All week, I have heard from constituents who are demanding action. Let me be clear: we will use every legislative, judicial, and public pressure tactic to stop Musk’s takeover. This multi-front battle will be fought in the courts, the halls of Congress, and the public sphere.

“We must stay loud. We must stand tight. We must press on.”

February 12, 2025
Federal workers’ union sues to stop DOGE activity at CFPB

Jack Otter and the ‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panelists discuss how DOGE is shaking up Washington, D.C.

A union representing federal workers filed a pair of lawsuits against Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting Director Russell Vought, asking a court to declare recent actions by him unlawful and to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining access to employee information.

The filings by the National Treasury Employees Union come after Vought told staff at the CFPB not to issue any new rules and to stop any new investigations, among other directives. He also sent a letter to the Federal Reserve requesting no money for the CFPB’s third quarter of fiscal year 2025.

“It is substantially likely that these initial directives are a precursor to a purge of CFPB’s workforce, which is now prohibited from fulfilling the agency’s statutory mission,” read one of the lawsuits filed in federal court.

The other alleges that the CFPB has “granted access, and by extension, disclosed employee records to individuals associated with DOGE without employee consent to such disclosure.”

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS ELON MUSK’S DOGE FROM ACCESSING TREASURY RECORDS AFTER DEMOCRATIC ATTORNEYS GENERAL FILE LAWSUIT

Russell Vought, left, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). (Andrew Harnik/Kenny Holston / Getty Images)

“These employees face irreparable harm to their privacy interests if their employee information is improperly accessed and/or disseminated by individuals associated with DOGE,” that lawsuit adds. “Once an employee’s personnel information is improperly disclosed, the harm to the employee cannot be undone.”

The lawsuit also cites a union chapter president as saying that members are “concerned that their personnel information will be used to stop, lower, or otherwise modify their salaries and other benefits; to blackmail, threaten, or intimidate them; to prevent them from obtaining future employment; to deny them goods and services such as loans and childcare; in identity theft and social engineering attempts against them; in advertising and marketing directed at them.”

The CFPB did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from FOX Business.

On its website, the CFPB says it aims to “make consumer financial markets work for consumers, responsible providers, and the economy as a whole.”

“We protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and take action against companies that break the law,” it says.

ELON MUSK ALLEGES $50 BILLION IN FRAUD AT TREASURY AFTER JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE AUDIT

Demonstrators hold signs during a protest against Elon Musk outside the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 4. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

Vought, who is the head of the Office of Management and Budget, was named acting director of the agency on Friday.

“As Acting Director, I am committed to implementing the President’s policies, consistent with the law, and acting as a faithful steward of the Bureau’s resources,” Vought said in an email to colleagues obtained by RealClearPolitics.

However, the lawsuit asks the court to declare that “Defendant Vought’s directive to the CFPB’s employees to stop their supervision and enforcement work is unlawful” and to prevent him from “further attempts to halt the CFPB’s supervision and enforcement work.”

The union also notes that Elon Musk wrote “RIP CFPB” on his X account, and that three members of DOGE have “been added to the Bureau’s staff and email directory as ‘senior advisers,’” despite not being CFPB employees.

“The same day he assumed the role of Acting Director, on February 7, Mr. Vought instructed CFPB staff to grant the DOGE team access to all non-classified CFPB systems,” it said.

Elon Musk is seen with President Donald Trump. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

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The second lawsuit asks the court to block “CFPB from granting access and, by extension, disclosing employee records and information to members of the Department of Government Efficiency, except as required by law.”

February 10, 2025
Judge blocks Trump from placing 2,200 USAID workers on leave

A federal judge on Friday ordered a temporary block on plans by the Trump administration to put 2,200 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, also agreed to block an order that would have given just 30 days for the thousands of overseas USAID workers the administration wanted to place on abrupt administrative leave to move their families back to the U.S. at the government’s expense.

Both actions by the administration would have exposed the workers and their families to unnecessary risk and expense, according to the judge.

This comes as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, seek to dismantle the agency.

TOP DEM STRATEGISTS WARN USAID FUNDING FIGHT IS A ‘TRAP’ FOR THE PARTY

Demonstrators and lawmakers rally against President Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk as they disrupt the federal government, including dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Nichols noted that staffers living overseas have said the administration had cut some workers off from government emails and other communication systems required to reach the U.S. government in case of a health or safety emergency.

USAID contractors in various regions, including the Middle East, even reported that “panic button” apps had been removed from their phones or disabled when the administration abruptly placed them on leave.

“Administrative leave in Syria is not the same as administrative leave in Bethesda,” the judge said.

An employee of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) who wished to remain anonymous protests outside the USAID headquarters on February 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

The judge also pointed to workers stating difficulties that would arise from the 30-day timeline to return to the U.S., including that they had no home to return to in the U.S. after decades overseas and that they would be forced to pull children with special needs out of school in the middle of the school year.

Nichols ordered 500 USAID staffers who had already been placed on leave by the administration to be reinstated.

But the judge declined a request from two federal employee associations to grant a temporary block on an administration-imposed funding freeze that has shut down the agency and its work, pending more hearings on the workers’ lawsuit.

USAID STAFFERS STUNNED, ANGERED BY TRUMP ADMIN’S DOGE SHUTDOWN OF $40B AGENCY

The American flag flying alone beside an empty flagpole that previously had the flag of USAID is pictured in the reflection of a window that previously had the sign and the seal of USAID, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP)

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Nichols emphasized in the hearing earlier Friday that his order to pause the administration’s actions was not a decision on the employees’ request to block the administration’s efforts to quickly destroy the agency.

“CLOSE IT DOWN,” Trump said on Truth Social, referring to USAID, ahead of the judge’s ruling.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 8, 2025
Judge temporarily blocks 2,200 USAID workers from being placed on leave by midnight

A Trump-appointed judge said at an emergency hearing on Friday that he would put a temporary block on the administration’s plan to put 2,200 U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees on paid leave by midnight, Fox News has learned.

He also told a government lawyer that he’s not sure whether he would include the 500 employees already placed on leave in his order.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sided with two federal employee associations – the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees – who filed lawsuits over the order on Thursday.

Government officials “failed to acknowledge the catastrophic consequences of their actions, both as they pertain to American workers, the lives of millions around the world, and to US national interests,” the lawsuit says.

Demonstrators rally in support of USAID. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Nichols said that the plaintiffs had “established irreparable harm,” adding that “there’s zero harm to the government to pausing this for some short period of time.”

Nichols added that it would be a “very limited” temporary restraining order.

“CLOSE IT DOWN!” President Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier Friday of the U.S. agency that oversees international development.

An official with USAID told reporters on Friday that the agency had “ceased to exist,” with the majority of employees gone and funding stopped.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the most crucial life-saving programs administrated by USAID overseas were given waivers to continue.

USAID was founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and had more than 10,000 employees and a budget of about $40 billion a year.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

On Friday, the USAID website said that at midnight “all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST).”

Trump and Elon Musk, who runs the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, have said they might move USAID’s surviving life-saving programs under the State Department.

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Rubio said the U.S. government will continue providing foreign aid, “but it is going to be foreign aid that makes sense and is aligned with our national interest.”

Democratic critics have said the move is illegal and needs Congressional approval.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 7, 2025