Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[obiterdictum]

First off, thanks for all of your detailed and well-thought-out posts. I, among many others I'm sure, appreciate your work.

You are welcome, kthomp19. Apologies for the delay. The 15 message limit was reached before your message appeared.

I do have a question: does the recent ruling allowing the President to fire the director of the CFPB at will also have bearing with the FHFA?

No, it does not at the moment.

I know the ruling is being appealed, but in the meantime could Trump fire Watt while citing that case?

No, he cannot.

Or is there a stay in the ruling, not allowing such firings until the Supreme Court has ruled?

PHH Corporation, et al v. CFPB is being appealed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. CFPB petitioned for an en banc rehearing and it has been accepted (See below). Circuit Rule 35 states that a CADC panel judgment is vacated when an en banc rehearing is accepted and when the en banc hearing is complete, a new judgment will be issued.

Circuit Rule 35
If rehearing en banc is granted, the panel’s judgment, but ordinarily not its opinion, will be vacated, and the petition for panel rehearing may be acted upon without awaiting final termination of the en banc proceeding. Upon termination of the en banc proceeding, a new judgment will be issued. If the en banc court divides evenly, a new judgment affirming the decision under review will be issued.

If the CADC judges en banc render a new judgment that declares the single Director structure of CFPB unconstitutional under Article II of the US Constitution as the CADC panel did, then this may be used in court as a precedent for making President Trump the Director of the FHFA Director and allowing him to fire the FHFA Director at will. Even so, there also are issues that may prevent that precedent from being fully applicable since the FHFA and CFPB are structurally, functionally, statutorily and organizationally dissimilar. These differences are easy to see when comparing the different provisions in acts of Congress that created the FHFA (HERA 2008) and the CFPB (Dodd-Frank 2010). For example, unlike the CFPB Director ruling alone, the FHFA Director has others who provide internal checks and balances on his actions.

The FHFA Director can stay till his term terminates while cooperating or not cooperating with the President and Treasury Secretary or the FHFA Director can be cut out by a new President wielding a judicial sword of unconstitutionally that will take some time to forge in court. One can also consider the ways Melvin Watt can take himself out accidentally or purposely. He can become seriously ill, he can pass away, he can hung to dry for cause, can disappear from office for two years or he can voluntarily resign. What will happen?

CIRCUIT RULES of the UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS for the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
http://bit.ly/2hkeSJS

EN BANC - PHH CORPORATION, ET AL., v. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU
https://morningconsult.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/phh.pdf

APPEAL - PHH CORPORATION, ET AL., v. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU
http://bit.ly/2dZ8qnu