A federal appeals court has vacated a U.S. District Court decision that halted mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded the case for further proceedings. The panel stayed its decision to allow for a petition for re-hearing by the full court, holding that the firings cannot proceed until one week after the results of the petition, which could result in further delay and potentially reverse the decision.
“Today’s decision is a deeply disturbing development in the ongoing campaign to shutter the CFPB, which has defended people from unscrupulous practices by credit reporting companies, Wall Street banks, and big corporations, said Lauren Saunders, director of federal advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center.
“The CFPB was created after millions of people lost their jobs and homes in the Great Recession and has helped return $21 billion to 200 million consumers harmed by companies that violated the law,” said Saunders. “People need the CFPB to prevent financial companies from running roughshod over families, Veterans, and older adults.”
In her dissent, Judge Pillard wrote: “Congress created the CFPB, assigned it important missions and powers, and subjected its decisions to the strong presumption of judicial review that applies as a matter of course to the final actions of federal agencies. It is untenable to hold that same Congress meant the agency’s continued existence to be a matter of unilateral and unexplained presidential edict.”
The court’s decision is the latest development in a lawsuit filed in January by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), NCLC, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Virginia Poverty Law Center, CFPB Employee Association, and Pastor Eva Steege, against the CFPB and CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought, to challenge the unlawful dismantling of the CFPB. (Ms. Steege, 83, had reached out to the CFPB to help her receive loan forgiveness to pay down her student loan debt. She passed away in April, and her husband, Ted Steege, replaced her as plaintiff in the case.)