Richard Cordray, Donald Trump, and the CFPB: Constitutional Questions

Heated constitutional debates have surrounded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since the agency's creation during the Obama Administration. The U.S. Supreme Court's 9-0 decision in NLRB v. Noel Canning, which found President Obama's recess appointments of three NLRB members to be unconstitutional, presumably applied with equal force to Obama's recess appointment of Cordray. Congress' decision to make the CFPB director removable only for cause--instead of removable at the pleasure of the president--has also been subject to constitutional challenge. Most recently, Director Cordray, on his last day in office, appointed a Deputy Director to act as the agency's director, in direct conflict with President Trump's designation of a different acting director. Was Cordray's appointment within his legal authority as director? Or did Cordray overstep his bounds and intrude on the president's constitutional prerogatives? And what does this latest CFPB legal dispute say about the broader questions about the agency's constitutionality, structure, and future? 

Speaker: 

• Josh Blackman, Associate Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law Houston

If you plan to attend and have not already done so, please RSVP by Wednesday, March 14 to [email protected]. 

The cost of lunch and attendance is $15.00.

Members and non-members alike are always welcome. Pay at the door or in advance by cash or check (payable to “The Federalist Society”).