The confirmation was inevitable after this morning's deal and the vote just before noon, but it's official — Richard Cordray is the Senate-confirmed Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The Senate has voted to confirm Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as senators approved the first of a batch of President Barack Obama’s nominations freed for votes by a bipartisan agreement.
The 66-34 vote Tuesday came hours after Senate leaders worked out a deal freeing up seven stalled appointments for the consumer bureau and other agencies for simple majority votes by the chamber. In exchange, Democrats agreed to abandon for now an effort to change Senate rules to weaken the minority party’s ability to block nominations, and Obama agreed to submit two different nominees for two labor posts.
Senator Elizabeth Warren announced the final vote tally with a big smile. Here's her statement:
After more than 700 days of waiting, Rich Cordray will finally get the confirmation vote he deserves from the U.S. Senate. Director Cordray has won praise from consumer and industry groups, and from Republicans and Democrats, for his fair and effective approach. With Director Cordray's confirmation, we will be able to say loudly, clearly, and with confidence: the consumer agency is the law of the land and is here to stay. We fought hard for the agency, and we proved that big change is still possible in Washington. Now we have the watchdog that the American people deserve – a watchdog looking out for middle class families, getting rid of tricks, traps, and fine print, and holding financial institutions accountable when they break the law.
Once I get done with an appellate brief tomorrow, I hope to be able to post some thoughts on what this all means. For now, let me just say that I'm very glad to learn that Section 1066 of the Dodd-Frank Act will be of only academic interest going forward.
