WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the U.S. consumer protection agency that was created under President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to protect Americans from financial scams.

By a 7-2 vote, the justices rejected a constitutional claim brought by a coalition of payday lenders who had won before a panel of three Donald Trump appointees on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The lower court had questioned the legality of the agency, ruling it was not properly "accountable to Congress" because it did not receive its funding through an annual appropriation.

Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas said "the statute that authorizes the bureau to draw money from the combined earnings of the Federal Reserve system to carry out its duties satisfies the appropriations clause" of the Constitution.

Thomas said early American history shows that Congress could fund the government through different means, not just through an annual appropriation.

"Based on the Constitution's text, the history against which that text was enacted, and congressional practice immediately following ratification, we conclude that appropriations need only identify a source of public funds and authorize the expenditure of those funds for designated purposes to satisfy the appropriations clause," he wrote.

Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch dissented.

Alito faulted the court for upholding "a novel statutory scheme under which the powerful CFPB may bankroll its own agenda without any congressional control or oversight."

Consumer advocates welcomed the decision.

"This ruling upholds the independent funding structure that has made the CFPB a successful advocate for protecting consumers and holding big banks, payday lenders, and other financial institutions accountable," said Devon Ombres, a legal policy director for the Center for American Progress. A ruling upholding the 5th Circuit Court "could have placed the entire financial regulatory system at risk and roiled financial markets."

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