Supreme Court Undermines Consumer Protections

WASHINGTON, DC, June 29, 2020 – The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 Monday that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that Congress put in place to ensure that the agency is independent and protecting consumers — not unscrupulous banks, lenders, and credit card companies — is unconstitutional. Congress had established the CFPB Director as independent, and only removable by the President for cause.  The Court, however, ruled that such an independent structure is unconstitutional, and the president must have the power to remove the CFPB Director for any reason.  As a result, President Trump, or any president in the future, can immediately fire any director whom they believe improperly sides with consumers over unscrupulous banks.

Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron issued the following statement:

“With this ruling, the Supreme Court just gave more power to the same banks that were responsible for the 2008 financial crisis. We should not be surprised that Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh joined this ruling. Kavanaugh had argued in the past that the CFPB was unconstitutional, and Gorsuch had previously shielded companies from the accountability that the CFPB was designed to enforce. In this time of great economic uncertainty, the American people deserve robust financial protections that shouldn’t depend on who’s currently in office.”