Court lifts block on Trump’s mass firings at top US consumer watchdog

Judge previously blocked president from laying off 1,500 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

A federal appeals court set the stage for the Trump administration to resume firings at the top US consumer watchdog, ruling in a split decision that a lower court lacked jurisdiction in temporarily blocking the mass layoffs.

The ruling will not take immediate effect, the court said on Friday, to allow lawyers representing workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and consumer groups to file for a review of the case by the full circuit court of appeals for the District of Columbia.