In the wake of the chaotic shutdown of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the lawsuits filed to fight its apparent closure, 22 states and the District of Columbia filed two amicus briefs within days in support of the bureau and its statutory functions.
On Feb. 19, the state attorneys general banded together in an amicus brief, in Baltimore City v. CFPB, to support Baltimore’s motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the current leadership from taking any further steps to dismantle the bureau. On Friday, Feb. 21, the groups filed a second amicus brief in Nat’l Treasury Employees Union and other parties’ case against CFPB acting director Russell Vought, supporting the employees’ motion for a preliminary injunction.
The states: New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Both filings highlighted the irreparable harm that many states and their residents will suffer from the current CFPB’s actions if these actions continue. Among other compelling arguments, the briefs contended that the “States have suddenly lost the CFPB’s significant expertise and resources that can be invaluable in ongoing matters that protect their residents…States that have collaborative enforcement investigations or active litigations pending, or that have previously established schedules for joint supervisory examinations, have been unable to communicate directly with their CFPB counterparts. And direct inquiries to the CFPB by States have gone unanswered…”
