Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute joined New Civil Liberties Alliance in filing an amicus brief in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America (CFPB v. CFSA), calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to rein in the power of the unelected administrative state and protect the separation-of-powers principle embedded in the U.S. Constitution.

“The power that the CFPB holds is perhaps the most extreme example of the unelected administrative state run amok, and its power is relatively unchecked by presidential or congressional oversight,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “In violation of the Appropriations Clause and the separation of powers, the CFPB is free from any meaningful form of democratic accountability and has no meaningful constraints on its authority. This is completely contrary to the Founders’ design that Congress alone should maintain the power of the purse.”

Also joining the brief were the Manhattan Institute and the Law Offices of Crystal Moroney.

In the brief, the amici argued that the Appropriations Clause in the U.S. Constitution is designed to ensure that Congress maintains the exclusive power of the purse, that the CFPB’s funding mechanism violates the Appropriations Clause because it circumvents Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, and that the U.S. Supreme Court’s case law provides no support for the CFPB’s interpretation of the Appropriations Clause.

# # #

UPDATE: On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “Congress’ statutory authorization allowing the Bureau to draw money from the earnings of the Federal Reserve System to carry out the Bureau’s duties satisfies the Appropriations Clause.”