WASHINGTON A Republican Senator called for the resignation of the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three National Labor Relations Board members who a federal appeals court ruled Friday were illegally seated as recess appointees last year by President Obama.
Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., also called for a government investigation to determine how to unwind any regulations imposed by the two agencies, which he says would now be void because of the court’s ruling.
Johanns is among the growing number of Republicans, in the Senate and House, renewing the battle over the consumer agency, which was created as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, over the opposition of the Republicans.
When Republican senators banded together to oppose any nomination for director of the new agency President Obama appointed Richard Cordray as director during a brief Senate recess—even though the Republicans held a brief pro forma session with a single senator to maintain the Senate was not in recess. The federal appeals court Friday ruled in favor of the Republicans and invalidated the CFPB and labor board appointments because it said the brief session blocked a Senate recess—meaning the President could not make recess appointments.
The appeals court only ruled on the merits of the NLRB appointments, but Cordray was appointed under the same circumstances at the same time.
“This opinion,” wrote Sen. Johanns in Saturday letter to Cordray, “raises grave doubts as to whether your appointment and tenure as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are valid.” He called on Cordray to resign his position immediately.
