-
A ruling by a federal appeals court last week that President Obama acted improperly in recess appointing members of the National Labor Relations Board may encourage Democrats to cut a deal on the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
January 28
WASHINGTON Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed Wednesday that the chamber will hold a vote to confirm Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sometime next week.
"I'm going to make sure he's going to have a vote next week," the Nevada Democrat told several reporters,
But the confirmation vote is likely to fail in the face of ongoing Republican opposition. GOP lawmakers have argued they will not confirm Cordray or any CFPB head until several structural changes are made to the agency, including replacing its director with a five-member board and subjecting it to the appropriations process.
The pending vote, along with frustration over several other stalled nominations, has spurred renewed discussions among lawmakers and observers about whether Reid should invoke the so-called "nuclear option" to override the 60 votes necessary to stop a filibuster. The majority leader could change Senate rules to require a simple majority vote instead.
Still, Reid was guarded on Tuesday about any plans to do so.
"I'm not going to do anything now, precipitously," he told Talking Points Memo. "But I'm looking at this very closely . We're going to fill that job. Cordray is there now. He's going to get a vote."
