Abstract

The 2008 financial crisis highlighted the vulnerability of the global economic system and its safeguards. It provided an opportunity for the United States to establish a new model of independent administrative authority: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This federal regulator is unique because it focuses solely on consumer protection, rather than prudential regulation, and was created with significant ideological goals in mind. Reflecting the perennial struggle between Democrats and Republicans, the Bureau has been the subject of repeated Supreme Court litigation due to the differing reactions to policies that can be pursued in the financial sector