Elizabeth Warren Out, Another Bank Critic to Lead Consumer Agency

Posted on Jul 17, 2011

Robert Scoble (CC-BY)

Fearing a tough confirmation fight, the Obama administration has decided that Elizabeth Warren will not head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Instead, the White House will nominate Richard Cordray, who was already selected to be the agency’s top enforcer and who, in his previous gig as Ohio’s attorney general, had put himself on the map by suing big banks.

Warren, the Harvard law professor who has been setting up the agency, was the choice of progressives because of her willingness to confront powerful financial institutions. She is rumored to be considering a 2012 Senate campaign against Scott Brown, the Republican who currently occupies Ted Kennedy’s seat in that chamber.

Because the CFPB is a new institution, its first leader will play a crucial role in establishing its reach and power. The organization was created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, and may be our best hope for functional regulation to emerge from that watered-down bill. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., one of the two key sponsors of the legislation, called Cordray the second best choice behind Warren to lead the consumer protection agency.  —PZS

Boston Herald:

The White House appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau won praise from U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, but the Newton Democrat still prefers Elizabeth Warren.

“It’s the second best appointment the president could have made,” Frank told the Herald yesterday. “But Cordray has a very good record protecting consumers.”

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