Obama to Nominate Consumer Bureau Chief Next Week.
By Deborah Solomon
www.wsj.comThe White House is expected to nominate a director to run the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau next week, according to people familiar with the matter.
Elizabeth Warren speaks at a conference March 30, 2011 on global capital markets competitiveness hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Bloomberg News)The nomination – among the most highly anticipated personnel moves in Washington – would come as the agency officially opens its doors next Thursday. The Treasury Department will transfer power to the CFPB on July 21, one year after the agency was created by the Dodd-Frank financial law.
The administration is not expected to nominate Elizabeth Warren, the popular consumer advocate who has been helping set up the agency as a special adviser to President Barack Obama, these people said.Among the names being mentioned as potential nominees are Richard Cordray, the former Ohio attorney general who is heading up the CFPB’s enforcement arm, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Raj Date, a top aide to Ms. Warren.
The White House has come under criticism for failing to nominate a director for an agency that’s a key part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-regulatory overhaul. The CFPB was established to protect consumers against abusive and fraudulent practices related to financial products like credit cards, mortgages and payday loans. The agency, which was given broad authority by Congress, only gets some of its power once it has a director.
A nomination will only be the beginning of what’s likely to be a bruising process to get a director installed at the CFPB. Republican senators have already said they’ll block anyone for the post — regardless of who’s nominated — unless the White House makes structural changes to the agency, including having it led by a five-member commission.
The White House, which is unwilling to make those changes, would likely have to circumvent the Senate confirmation process and appoint their nominee during a congressional recess. That, too, is fraught with uncertainty since Republican lawmakers have indicated they’ll block the Senate from going into recess. However, the Senate could still take a short recess – fewer than three days – and the White House could recess-appoint their nominee during that period.
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