December 8, 2011
As pundits predicted, Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked President Obama’s nominee to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, former Ohio AG Richard Cordray.
Democrats needed 60 votes to prevent a filibuster, but the final tally came to 53-45.
Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) as expected was the only GOP lawmaker voting in support of Cordray.
The White House launched a seven-state campaign in a last-ditch effort to muster support for Cordray. Yet more than 40 Republican Senators have vowed to block any nominee for CFPB director until the agency’s leadership structure is amended.
President Obama issued the following statement following the vote, according to the Boston Globe:
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“Consumers across the country understand that part of the reason we got into the financial mess that we did was because regulators were not doing their jobs,” Obama said. “We are not going to allow politics as usual on Capitol Hill to stand in the way of American consumers being protected by unscrupulous financial operators. And we’re going to keep on pushing on this issue.”
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released the following statement from Secretary Tim Geithner:
“Americans deserve the full protections signed into law under Wall Street reform. The longer the Senate fails to confirm Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the longer they will be denied that protection.”
