WASHINGTON Senate Republicans massed again today in opposition to the nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, insisting that President Obama agree to their terms for a five-person board to head the agency before they vote to confirm a director.
In a letter sent to President Obama on Friday, 43 Republican senators committed to refusing approval of any nominee to head the consumer watchdog until the bureau underwent significant reform. That means the Republican senators have enough votes to filibuster, or block, President Obama's nomination of Richard Cordray for a full five-year term as director of the new consumer agency.
"The CFPB as created by the deeply flawed Dodd-Frank Act is one of the least accountable in Washington," said Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader. "Today’s letter reaffirms a commitment by 43 Senators to fix the poorly thought structure of this agency that has unprecedented reach and control over individual consumer decisions — but an unprecedented lack of oversight and accountability.”
The new maneuver comes just one week after President Obama re-nominated Cordray to serve as CFPB director. The president installed Cordray in the position one year ago, using a controversial recess appointment after running into similar Republican opposition.
The Senate Republicans massed against a CFPB nominee last year, prompting the President to seat Cordray as a so-called recess appointment. But that appointment is now threatened by a federal appeals court ruling last week invalidating the President’s recess appointments of three members to the National Labor Relations Board the same time he appointed Cordray.
The Republicans insist that President Obama and Senate Democrats agree to change the structure of the new consumer agency to be run by a five-person board, instead of a single director, and to give Congress greater power over its budget.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., introduced a bill today to achieve those goals.
