CFPB Structure Ruled Unconstitutional Posted by AVCU on 10:49 PM

In a 2-1 ruling issued on Tuesday morning of this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the CFPB's structure is unconstitutional, but will allow the CFPB to continue to function by giving the president the power to remove and supervise the director.

The court said that “The CFPB’s concentration of enormous executive power in a single, unaccountable, unchecked director not only departs from settled historical practice, but also poses a far greater risk of arbitrary decision-making and abuse of power, and a far greater threat to individual liberty, than does a multi-member independent agency.”

The ruling stemmed from a court case in which, PHH, a mortgage lender, was assessed a $109 million penalty bythe CFPB. The appeals court voided that penalty and sent the case back to a lower court for review.

“The Director enjoys more unilateral authority than any other officer in any of the three branches of the U.S. Government, other than the President,” the court said.

Read more details on CU Times.