DOJ Files Amicus Brief Asserting That President Trump Can Remove CFPB Director

The DOJ filed an amicus curiae brief in response to a February 16, 2017 U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ("D.C. Circuit") Order granting a rehearing en banc in PHH Corporation v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"). The Order concerned a D.C. Circuit appellate panel decision that the CFPB's single-member structure was unconstitutional because it conferred excessive power on a single individual not subject to the control of the Executive Branch (see previous coverage). The DOJ argued that under his legal authority to remove executive agency heads at will, President Donald J. Trump also has the authority to remove the CFPB director, since the CFPB is an independent agency with a single director and not a "multi-headed commission."