- WIB PH
The atmosphere at a House hearing reflected how polarizing a figure Elizabeth Warren has become, being portrayed either as a symbol of overreaching government or a defender of the consumer.
May 24 -
While Sen. Shelby has every right to seek changes to laws that aren't working, he should give Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a chance before he tries to crush them.
May 9 -
Republicans are strongly considering using a rare procedural move to prevent President Obama from making a recess appointment to install a director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
May 6 -
Senate Republicans' vow to not confirm a permanent director for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without changes to the agency virtually assures a recess-appointment.
May 5 -
Obama has two options: Nominate a candidate who sparks little debate (no easy task), or make a recess appointment, a move that will further infuriate GOP opponents.
April 25
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are urging the House to use a procedural maneuver to block President Obama's recess appointment powers for the remainder of his term.
In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday, 20 GOP senators asked Boehner to oppose a resolution that would allow the Senate to recess for more than three days, a move that could prevent Obama from appointing Elizabeth Warren as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
"President Obama has used his recess appointments to fill powerful positions with individuals whose views are so outside the mainstream that they cannot be confirmed by the Senate of the United States," the letter said.
Warren's advocates have rallied around her in recent days after an ugly showdown Tuesday with Republicans on a House oversight panel. In a letter released Thursday, Democrats called on the panel's chairman to apologize for accusing Warren of lying. Meanwhile, a liberal group announced it had gathered more than 150,000 signatures in less than 24 hours pushing for a recess appointment.
It's not clear whether the strategy to block Senate recesses could withstand a challenge from the White House, as the Constitution doesn't dictate how many days the president must wait before making a recess appointment. Presidents have traditionally avoided making such appointments during a break of less than four days.
Under House and Senate rules, neither chamber may recess for more than three days without the other's consent.
The letter cited a similar tactic that Democrats employed in 2007, when they held pro forma sessions to avoid recessing for more than three days, a move that successfully prevented President George W. Bush from making any recess appointments.
Senate Republicans had previously sent a letter to the White House refusing to confirm any nominee absent significant changes to the CFPB's structure.
On Thursday, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee announced that it had gathered more than 150,000 signatures for a letter urging Obama to use his recess appointment powers. They said the Republican threat to block a CFPB was an abuse of the confirmation process.
"You did Americans proud by appointing Elizabeth Warren to set up this new Wall Street accountability bureau, Americans need her to lead it, and we urge you to give her a recess appointment," the letter said.
In a separate letter Wednesday
McHenry, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee's financial services subcommittee, claimed Warren had misled Congress in previous testimony about her involvement in settlement negotiations with state and federal officials and mortgage servicers.
He also said Warren was lying when she said she had an agreement with committee staff that she could leave by 2:15 p.m. in exchange for moving up the hearing start time.
Video of McHenry grilling Warren has circulated on blogs this week, and his
"Your disrespectful treatment of Professor Warren undermines the integrity of our committee and offends the standards of the House of Representatives," the letter said.
The members, including ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., also called on McHenry to apologize to members of the subcommittee for "denigrating the proceedings and potentially compromising our ability to conduct our important work in the future."
