WASHINGTON—Democrats are stepping up to support the current structure of the CFPB.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), and 19 other Democrats filed an amicus brief to defend the CFPB’s structure after three judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found its structure unconstitutional in October, NAFCU reported. Warren is generally considered to be the architect of the Bureau, which has been championed by Democrats but is largely opposed by Republicans.
The group of current and former Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate are asking for the whole court to review the decision. The group includes Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
The CFPB filed a petition in November appealing the court’s ruling. In order for the appeal to be granted, a majority of the sitting active judges must vote to hear the petition, NAFCU explained. In its petition, the CFPB pointed to other independent agencies, including the Social Security Administration, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Office of Special Counsel, to help make its case.
“The court did not shut down the Bureau, allowing it to operate as a regular executive agency for the time being, but did give the president the power to supervise and remove the director at will. If the court’s decision is upheld, CFPB Director Richard Cordray could be replaced with a new director by President-elect Donald Trump before Cordray’s term ends in 2018,” NAFCU noted in its analysis.
After the ruling, NAFCU urged the Bureau to impose an immediate moratorium on any rulemakings not already implemented. NAFCU also supports pending legislation that would move the Bureau from a single director to a five-person commission.