BREAKING: Federal Appeals Court Finds Structure of CFPB Unconstitutional.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the consumer-finance watchdog violated the Constitution’s separation of powers because its director isn’t sufficiently answerable to the president.

It rejected the idea of shutting down the CFPB, and instead said the remedy is to give the president the power to remove the agency’s director at will and to supervise and direct the director. The court also sent the enforcement action back to the CFPB for review.

The CFPB, created by a Democratic Congress after the 2008 financial crisis and long-criticized by Republicans, is headed by a single director who can be removed by the president only for cause.

“In light of the consistent historical practice under which independent agencies have been headed by multiple commissioners or board members, and in light of the threat to individual liberty posed by a single-Director independent agency…We therefore hold that the CFPB is unconstitutionally structured,” the court said.