, Columnist
The Consumer Protection Agency Is Unusual. It's Not Unconstitutional.
The agency's sole director may be rare. The Supreme Court probably won't care.
Not how the agency really works.
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In one of the most stunning rulings in recent years on separation of powers, the prestigious federal court of appeals in Washington, DC, on Tuesday struck down the law creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau -- at least as the independent agency that Congress designed. To cure what it saw as a constitutional defect, the court ruled that the bureau’s head must not be independent of the president, but must serve at his pleasure and be subject to his complete control.
It’s an appealing idea, elaborated with an unusual level of scholarship, clarity, and even passion. But as a matter of constitutional law, it’s a bit wild. The Supreme Court shouldn't accept it -- and probably won't.