On September 29, the union representing CFPB employees submitted its petition for rehearing en banc after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction that would have prevented CFPB leadership from dismantling the agency. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the appellate panel, in its majority decision, concluded that neither the APA nor the Constitution provides a way for the plaintiffs to challenge the Bureau’s shutdown.

The petition for rehearing en banc argued the panel’s public-statement rule enables agencies to evade judicial review, and that its conclusion regarding separation-of-powers claims threatens to make such violations unreviewable. The plaintiffs warned that if the majority’s decision stands, the CFPB would be eliminated, causing major regulatory disruption and harming consumers.

The filing of the petition has the effect of staying the mandate of the appellate panel’s earlier ruling. If the en banc court grants the petition, the panel’s opinion would be vacated and the case would be set for briefing and argument before the active judges of the D.C. Circuit.