The man who took out Wells Fargo’s boss might be able to hang onto his job — whether Trump likes it or not.
The Washington, DC, federal appeals court vacated an earlier ruling against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday and agreed to re-hear the case that challenges its constitutionality — increasing the odds that the agency’s director, Richard Cordray, a thorn in the side of Wall Street, could maintain his post until next year.
The decision is good news for Cordray and a roadblock for the Trump administration, which is looking to fire him and curb the regulatory agency’s powers.
Cordray’s term extends to July 2018, and he’s expected to stay in that position unless he’s forcibly removed.
In October, a three-judge panel from the same court ruled that the CFPB’s structure was unconstitutional because it has a single director and, unlike some other similar agencies, doesn’t report directly to the president.
The court’s Thursday decision will put the case — which was brought by mortgage lender PHH — before 12 judges rather than three, in what’s called an en banc review.
The upcoming hearing could also narrow the scope of the original ruling by throwing out any opinion on the agency’s constitutionality, Joseph Lynyak III, a partner at Dorsey & Whitney, said.
The CFPB, which was created in 2010 as part of Dodd-Frank, last year fined Wells Fargo for its fake-accounts scandal—which ultimately led Chief Executive John Stumpf to resign.
A CFPB spokesman declined comment.
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