CFPB's Structure Found Unconstitutional, But Agency Will Survive

The Supreme Court in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau held that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") violated the separation of powers, but stopped short of finding the entire agency unconstitutional and instead held the CFPB could live on with a director who was removable at will by the President.

The Court reasoned that the CFPB's "unique structure" was unconstitutional because the agency was "vested with significant executive power" but was led by a single director who was, given that he or she was removable by the President only for cause rather than at will, "accountable to no one." While four justices (Justices Kagan, Breyer, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor) dissented on the merits of the constitutional question, they joined three members of the majority (Justices Roberts, Alito, and Kavanaugh) in concluding that the for-cause removal provision could be severed from the Dodd-Frank Act that established the CFPB.