On June 29, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that Congress may not insulate sole-director federal agency heads from at-will removal by the President. Article II’s clause vesting “the executive Power” in a single “President” ensures that the President has a broad power to remove, at will, the high officers that serve him in the executive branch. In 1935, the Supreme Court arbitrarily declared that Congress may give principal officers who serve on a panel for-cause removal protection. Seila Law rules that principal officers serving as sole directors remain removable at will. In a supportive amicus brief, WLF reviewed the constitutional history, text, and structure supporting a broad removal power. This history, text, and structure clearly show, WLF argued, that the CFPB as designed is unconstitutional.
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