A Washington, D.C. appeals court panel overturned a ruling that paused the mass firing at the watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The vote was 2-1, with two judges appointed by President Donald Trump overruling the lower-court judge.
According to the Trump-appointed judges, the lawsuit lacked standing and jurisdiction. The CFBP could request an en banc ruling, which would require every judge on the appeals court to lend their voice to the ruling.
In her dissent, Judge Cornelia T.L. Pillard, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, penned 60 pages, noting that Congress created the agency and could not be reduced to nothing.
"The President’s chosen CFPB leadership may—within those constraints—run the Bureau as it determines best serves the public interest. But it is emphatically not within the discretion of the President or his appointees to decide that the country would benefit most if there were no Bureau at all. Congress made the contrary decision in legislation establishing the CFPB, and the power to repeal that law lies with the legislative branch," she wrote.
"The district court found that Defendants acted to unilaterally abolish the CFPB, apparently viewing its continued existence to be inconsistent with President Trump’s vision for the federal government. The court therefore appropriately entered a preliminary injunction to preserve the status quo ante and prevent the destruction of the Bureau before the lawfulness of that action could be adjudicated," she continued.
She went on to say that the government doesn't even seriously dispute that their actions violated the "organic statute and the constitutional separation of powers."