The CPSC Gets to Keep Its Board (for now)

The Supreme Court recently declined to review and potentially invalidate the leadership structure of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) (https://thehill.com/homenews/4944532-supreme-court-consumer-safety-agency/). The CPSC is led by 5 board members, political appointees confirmed by the senate, who serve 7-year terms and can only be removed for cause (rather than at the president’s discretion). Some safety regulators have similar structures like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), whose members serve 5-year terms, while many have single directors or administrators like OSHA, MSHA, the EPA, and the FRA. The Supreme Court did not elaborate on why they declined the case, so it is possible an entity directly regulated by one of these agencies could bring a similar challenge in the future.

I have never seen a comprehensive review or analysis on the effectiveness of regulators lead by a board versus a single administrator, so I wonder what the difference is in reality. Please point me to one, if you know. Proposing a board rather than a single administrator is often a compromise measure for Congress to moderate the management of an agency that will initially be overseen by a president of an opposing party. The laws that govern rule making, however, are the same.