Majority opinion finds GSE regulator violates separation of powers
By Ben Lane | Housingwire
For the third time in recent memory, a government agency borne out of the housing crisis has been declared unconstitutional by a federal court.
The first two times it was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But now, it’s the Federal Housing Finance Agency that has been found to be operating in violation of the Constitution.
The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled this week that the federal government’s regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Macis not constitutionally structured.
Much like the earlier rulings involving the CFPB, the FHFA ruling deals with the agency’s leadership structure and whether a single director that wields as much authority as the CFPB director or the FHFA director is a violation of the Constitution’s separation of powers.
