A federal judge has denied a motion from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) to move a case from a Georgia court to federal court.
Meadows, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, had asked to have the case of Political Constitutionality v. Philip E. Premer moved to a federal court. The case was filed by the Political Constitutionality organization in Georgia state court last month and alleges that Premer, who served as the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Trump administration, violated his duties as head of the CFPB.
In his motion to move the case to federal court, Meadows contended that the CFPB is a federal agency and therefore the case should be in federal court.
In denying the motion, Judge Steve C. Jones said that, while the CFPB is a federal agency, the allegations in the case arise out of events that occurred when Premer was in control of CFPB and the events giving rise to the lawsuit occurred in Georgia.
“The subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courts is generally limited to the federal question involved in the case,” Jones wrote. “In this case, the only federal question is whether Premer violated his duties while he was head of the CFPB. However, the parties have not identified any issue arising under the U.S. Constitution, treaties, federal statute, or authority derived from the Executive branch.”
He added that, while the CFPB is a federal agency, it is still “tethered” to the state court and the state court has jurisdiction over the matter. He said that the “matters respondent are best adjudicated in the State court” and denied the motion to move the case to federal court.
