Columbus, OH – The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in State National Bank of Big Spring v. Mnuchin urging the Supreme Court of the United States to rein in the power of the unelected administrative state. In its brief, Buckeye argues that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) violates the separation of powers and allows unelected government officials to usurp the power of the states and their elected officials.

“As we outlined in our brief, the power that the CFPB director holds is perhaps the most extreme example of administrative independence to date, and that power is relatively unchecked by presidential or congressional oversight,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute. “Once confirmed, the CFPB director answers to essentially no one and is free from any meaningful form of democratic accountability by which the states or their citizens might hold him or her accountable. This much unaccountable power in the hands of one individual is a clear violation of the separation of powers and it must be reined in.”

State National Bank of Big Spring v. Mnuchin was initially filed in June 2012 by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the 60 Plus Association, and the State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas on the grounds that “the structure of the CFPB violates the Constitution’s separation of powers because the agency is insulated against meaningful checks by the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.”

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UPDATE: January 14, 2019, cert was denied by the Supreme Court of the United States.