Supreme Court Finds CFPB Structure Unconstitutional

The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the CFPB leadership structure violates the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

In Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, the Court, in an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, stated that "the CFPB's single-Director configuration is incompatible with our constitutional structure." The Chief Justice, joined by Justices Samuel Anthony Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, wrote that the "only constitutional defect we have identified in the CFPB's structure is the Director's insulation from removal [in 12 U.S.C. 5491(c)]." The majority found that provision to be severable from the other provisions of Dodd-Frank establishing the CFPB. On severability, four Justices (Justices Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor) who dissented on the primary holding concurred in the judgment.