Overview
- The Justice Department asked the D.C. Circuit to relax an injunction and grant a short remand so a district judge can consider a revised layoff plan.
- The proposal would retain 556 employees and cut about 620 positions, a drop of roughly 53% from current staffing.
- Enforcement would shrink about 80% to around 50 lawyers and staff, and supervision would fall to about 77 people.
- Government lawyers argue Congress cut the bureau’s funding nearly in half in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill and say Supreme Court precedent limits broad injunctions.
- The employees’ union opposes the plan as unlawful and warns core work would stall, noting projections of planned exams falling from 107 in 2024 to 64 in 2026.