In 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was established under then-President Barack Obama with support from far-left Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Yet in a surprising move, four of the Supreme Court's six Republican appointees just slapped down a challenge to the CFPB's existence.  

CFPB can continue to be funded by Federal Reserve

According to the Daily Caller, America's highest judicial body ruled on Tuesday that the CFPB's funding mechanism is constitutional.

That decision came despite the argument put forward by trade associations for financial services companies that the bureau must be funded via the congressional appropriations process rather than the Federal Reserve.

"Although there may be other constitutional checks on Congress' authority to create and fund an administrative agency, specifying the source and purpose is all the control the Appropriations Clause requires," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote.

However, that conclusion was rejected by Justice Samuel Alito, who complained that the ruling allows a federal agency to "bankroll its own agenda without any congressional control or oversight."

Group asks Congress to "repeal unusual funding mechanisms"

Iain Murray serves as the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s  Center For Economic Freedom, and he also expressed dissatisfaction with this week's decision.

"Sadly, the Court has given the green light to Congress to abrogate its own power of the purse. We can expect future Congresses to come up with ever more inventive ways to allow the executive branch to fund its whims," Murray complained.

"The only hope for responsible government is for Congress to rediscover its own prerogatives and repeal unusual funding mechanisms for executive agencies that exercise more power over American citizens than the Post Office — starting with the CFPB," he added.

In contrast, Sen. Warren put out a statement welcoming the Supreme Court's ruling. In it she boasted that "[t]he CFPB is here to stay."

Warren touts CFPB's effort to "fight giant banks when they cheat people"

"In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court followed the law and confirmed that the CFPB’s funding structure is constitutional," Warren declared.

The @CFPB is here to stay! In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court followed the law and confirmed that the CFPB’s funding structure is constitutional.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 16, 2024

"For the last decade, the consumer agency has fought the big banks and predatory lenders that try to cheat hardworking people," she insisted.

"The CFPB will keep on doing its work to slash junk fees, fight giant banks when they cheat people, and level the playing field for everyone in this country," Warren went on to declare.