July 18, 2011
President Obama revealed Sunday that he has chosen Richard Cordray, current enforcement chief for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as his nominee to permanently lead the agency as opposed to Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, who has been in charge of setting up the organization ahead of its official July 21 opening this Thursday.
Cordray, the 52-year-old former Ohio attorney general, first came into the national spotlight for his intense examination of mortgage foreclosure practices, according to the New York Times.
“Richard Cordray has spent his career advocating for middle-class families, from his tenure as Ohio’s attorney general to his most recent role as heading up the enforcement division at the C.F.P.B. and looking out for ordinary people in our financial system,” President Obama said in a written statement.
President Obama is expected to formally name Cordray as his CFPB director pick later today.
“Putting a director in place is critical because the agency will not gain the full measure of its powers until the Senate confirms a nominee,” reports the New York Times. “The agency can supervise the compliance of banks with existing laws, but the Dodd-Frank financial legislation dictates that it cannot write new rules or supervise other financial companies without a director.”
Elizabeth Warren, whose potential nomination for CFPB director had produced significant contention between Democrats and Republicans, issued the following statement Sunday that read in part:
“Today, the President announced his intent to nominate Richard Cordray to serve as the first Director of the CFPB. Rich has a proven track record of fighting for families during his time as head of the CFPB enforcement division, as Attorney General of Ohio, and throughout his career. He was one of the first senior executives I recruited for the agency, and his hard work and deep commitment make it clear that he can make many important contributions in leading this agency. He will make a stellar director. I am very pleased for Rich and very pleased for the CFPB.”
Warren in her statement went on to reference the letter 44 Republican Senators sent to the President in May in which they vowed to block any CFPB director nominee until changes to the agency’s regulatory powers and leadership structure were made:
“I remain hopeful that those who want to cripple this consumer bureau will think again and remember that the financial crisis – and the recession and job losses that it sparked – began one lousy mortgage at a time. I also hope that when those Senators next go home, they ask their constituents how they feel about fine print, about signing contracts with terms that are incomprehensible, and about learning the true costs of a financial transaction only later when fees are piled on or interest rates are reset.”
However, the New York Times reports Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the top Republican on the banking committee reaffirmed Sunday in a written statement: “Until President Obama addresses our concerns by supporting a few reasonable structural changes, we will not confirm anyone to lead it.”
Cordray, a University of Chicago Law School graduate and former Supreme Court Clerk, first began working at the CFPB in December after narrowly losing a re-election bid for Ohio attorney general to Republican Mike DeWine, who had hinted that Cordray was “antibusiness,” according to the New York Times.
Cordray in an interview with the Wall Street Journal earlier this said that the bureau plans to have aspects of its regulatory agenda ready for immediate implementation, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“I will be seeing to it that we will be ready with some of our priorities immediately,” he said.
That may include an enforcement plan for the credit card industry, which the newspaper said Cordray cited as one of his main priorities, along with mortgages and student loans. The Wall Street Journal reported Cordray stated that his new job is “in many ways doing on a 50-state basis the things I cared most about as a state attorney general, with a more robust and a more comprehensive authority.” Click here to read more of Cordray’s interview.
In nominating Cordray, Obama in his written statement Sunday also praised Warren. This agency was Elizabeth’s idea,” Mr. Obama said, “and through sheer force of will, intelligence and a bottomless well of energy, she has made, and will continue to make, a profound and positive difference for our country.”
Warren intends to return to teaching at Harvard in the fall, the New York Times reports an administration official said. Many Democrats are hoping Warren will make a run for the former Sen. Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts Senate seat that is now currently occupied by Republican Scott Brown.
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