Supreme Court rules CFPB funding structure is lawful, jarring attempt to undo Wall Street cop

 

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Congress has broad powers to delegate its spending power to federal agencies and upheld the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s power to set its budget without going to Capitol Hill for money each year.

The decision is a victory for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who championed the CFPB as an independent check on Wall Street and big banks in the wake of the Great Recession from December 2007 to June 2009. The agency’s ability to set its own budget was critical to that independence, leaving outside the usual give-and-take of the annual spending process.

Opponents argued that the structure violated Congress’ power of the purse, one of its core duties under the Constitution. The justices ruled 7-2 that Congress can lend that power to federal agencies.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, said all the Constitution requires is that Congress authorize an “appropriation,” or expense. It doesn’t dictate how or how often it must do so.

“Based on the Constitution’s text, the history against which that text was enacted, and congressional practice immediately following ratification, we conclude that appropriations need only identify a source of public funds and authorize the expenditure of those funds for designated purposes to satisfy the Appropriations Clause,” Justice Thomas wrote...more

You can read the opinion here.