Cordray Confirmed Under Senate Filibuster Agreement

Afterrnmonths of delay the Senate voted Tuesday evening to confirm RichardrnCordray as the first director of the Consumer Financial ProtectionrnBureau (CFPB). Cordray had been serving as director under a recessrnappointment made by President Obama in January 2012, an appointmentrnthat has been subject to several court challenges.</p

Thern66 to 34 vote on Cordray came as part of an agreement betweenrnRepublican and Democratic senators that averted the so-calledrn”nuclear option” threatened by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reidrn(D-NV). Reid claimed to have enough Democratic votes to end to endrnthe ability of the Republican minority to filibuster the confirmationrnof presidential non-judicial nominees and also clears the way forrnconfirmation of a new Secretary of Labor, three members of thernNational Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a new chief of thernEnvironmental Protection Agency, and the head of the Export-ImportrnBank. It will not affect the upcoming confirmation of a Secretary ofrnHomeland Security or a number of pending judicial appointments.</p

Cordrayrnwas originally nominated to head the new consumer bureau after it wasrncreated under the Dodd-Frank Act. Senate Republicans refused tornallow a vote on his appointment saying they had no problem withrnCordray or his qualifications but because they disagreed with thernstructure of the agency. The president invoked the recessrnappointment after Republicans said they would block anyone hernnominated. </p

Cordray’srnrecess appointment was time limited was also recently threatened by arncourt ruling invalidating appointments of three NLRB recessrnappointments made the same day. President Obama resubmitted thernnames of the four parties for confirmation at the beginning of hisrnsecond term but Republicans again refused to allow a vote unless thernstructure of the CFPB was changed from a single director to a boardrnof directors and its budget put under the Congressionalrnappropriations process rather than funded independently through thernFederal Reserve as the Dodd-Frank Bill required. </p

The New Yorkrntimes said after the agreement was reached many Republicans admitted</btheir efforts to hobble executive agencies by denying appointees arnvote was "wrongheaded.” It quoted Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)rnas saying, “Cordray was being filibustered because we don’t likernthe law” that created the consumer agency. That’s not a reasonrnto deny someone their appointment. We were wrong.” </p