Court Ruling on CFPB Director Deals Blow to Trump Administration
- Mortgage firm had mounted challenge to bureau’s structure
- Appeals court says removal power would risk independence
Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump's pick for acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, walks back to the White House from the CFPB building after he showed up for his first day of work in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 27, 2017.
Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images North AmericaThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has regained a measure of independence. A U.S. appeals court ruled Wednesday the president can only fire the agency’s head for neglect or wrongdoing and not just any reason, as the Trump administration sought.
Congress meant to protect the bureau from the ebb and flow of politics, according to the Washington-based court’s majority opinion. Giving the president more latitude to fire the director “would put the historically established independence of financial regulators and numerous other independent agencies at risk,” U.S. Circuit Judge Nina Pillard wrote.