Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Argued March 3, 2020
Decided June 29, 2020
Full case nameSeila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Docket no.19-7
Citations591 U.S. 197 (more)
140 S. Ct. 2183
ArgumentOral argument
Case history
PriorConsumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Seila Law LLC, 923 F.3d 680 (9th Cir. 2019), affirming Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Seila Law LLC, No. 8:17-cv-01081-JLS-JEM, 2017 WL 6536586 (C.D. Cal. 2017)
Holding
The CFPB’s leadership by a single individual removable only for inefficiency, neglect, or malfeasance violates the separation of powers.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh
Case opinions
MajorityRoberts (Parts I, II, and III), joined by Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh
PluralityRoberts (Part IV), joined by Alito, Kavanaugh
Concur/dissentThomas, joined by Gorsuch
Concur/dissentKagan (concurring in the judgment with respect to severability and dissenting in part), joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor
Laws applied
U.S. Const., Art. II, §2, cl. 2
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 591 U.S. 197 (2020) was a U.S. Supreme Court case which determined that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), with a single director who could only be removed from office "for cause", violated the separation of powers. Handed down on June 29, 2020, the Court's 5–4 decision created a new test to determine when Congress may limit the power of the president of the United States to remove an officer of the United States from office.

The Court recognized that the president may generally remove officers at will. However, the Court stated there were two exceptions to this rule. First, the president's removal power may be constrained by Congress if the officer in question is a member of an agency that shares similar characteristics to the Federal Trade Commission as discussed in Humphrey's Executor v. United States (1935). Second, Congress may constrain the president's removal power over "inferior officers with limited duties and no policymaking" role as discussed in Morrison v. Olson (1988). The Court declined to extend the exceptions to "an independent agency led by a single director and vested with significant executive power."

The Court also held that the directorship position was severable from the statute that established the CFPB, allowing the CFPB to continue to operate.