Bringing out the BIG GUNS! Will we finally see the Supremes come out and substantively reign in these out of control federal agencies?
"The Fifth Circuit correctly held that the Rule is
invalid because “Congress’s decision to abdicate its
appropriations power” to the CFPB “violates the
Constitution[]” and deprived the Bureau of lawfully
funded “means to promulgate the rule.” Pet.App. 2a,
44a. The Appropriations Clause is “a bulwark of the
Constitution’s separation of powers” that gives
Congress “exclusive power over the federal purse” as
“a restraint on Executive Branch officers.” U.S.
Dep’t of Navy v. FLRA, 665 F.3d 1339, 1346-47 (D.C.
Cir. 2012) (Kavanaugh, J.). As part of a broad plan,
however, to make the CFPB an independent agency
free from the influence of politically accountable
officials, the 2010 Congress granted the Bureau sui
generis authority to choose its own amount of annual
public funding, in perpetuity and for core executive
powers, subject only to an illusory cap (currently
around $750 million, with unspent funds available
for roll-over and investment). See 12 U.S.C. § 5497;
Pet.App. 33a-36a. In Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, 140 S.
Ct. 2183, 2192 (2020), this Court rejected another
piece of the plan, holding that the 2010 Congress violated Article II’s vesting of executive power in the
President because it shielded the CFPB from
attempts by the President to supervise the agency by
removing its Director. Here, the 2010 Congress
likewise violated Article I’s vesting of fiscal power in
Congress because it shielded the CFPB from
attempts by future Congresses to supervise the
agency by overseeing its funding. Pet.App. 37a."