Supreme Court’s Recess Appointment Case Challenges CFPB Head: Hensarling

The United States Supreme Court decision Monday to hear a case over the validity of President Barack Obama’s recess appointments of three people to the National Labor Relations Board on Jan. 4 will “effectively determine” the constitutionality of Richard Cordray’s appointment as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling.

“The legal validity of any and all actions undertaken by the CFPB are now questionable,” Hensarling (right), a Texas Republican, said in a statement.

Because Obama also attempted to install Cordray as director of the CFPB “on the same day and in the same manner, the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the constitutionality of the NLRB appointments will effectively determine the constitutionality of Cordray’s appointment as well,” Hensarling said.

In 2010, “congressional Democrats and the Obama administration bestowed upon the CFPB director the power to impact the availability and affordability of credit for every single American,” Hensarling continued. “This single unelected, unaccountable bureaucrat has the unprecedented power to decide what financial products and services will — and will not — be available to American consumers.

“No bureaucrat in Washington should have the power to deny a credit card to a hardworking single mother trying to put food on the table, a mortgage to a couple trying to buy their first home, or a car loan for a family. It should be up to individual consumers to determine whether a product is the right fit for their lifestyle and financial planning — not a Washington bureaucrat.”