Dayton Daily News...
Senate blocks Cordray’s nomination to consumer protection agency 
December 10, 2011 

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans Thursday blocked the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head a new federal consumer protection agency. 

The Senate vote of 53-45 fell seven short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster and force an up-or-down vote on the nomination. 

Among those opposing the nomination was U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who said he is concerned the new agency has too much power and too little accountability. 

President Barack Obama, however, left open the possibility of a recess appointment, which would allow Cordray to take the helm of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without needing Senate approval until the end of 2012. 

“I will not take any option off the table when it comes to getting Richard Cordray in as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” Obama said. 

But Obama said he also hoped Senate Republicans would “come to their senses” and confirm Cordray, who has also served as Ohio treasurer. 

A recess appointment might not come easily. Under a provision in the Constitution, the House of Representatives must agree to allow the Senate to go into recess. Last summer, House conservatives barred the Senate from going into recess in order to bar Obama from making recess appointments. Instead, the Senate stayed in session through pro forma sessions where no business was conducted. 

Hours after the vote, Portman insisted his vote was “not about Richard Cordray,” whom he called a “good public servant.” 

“I really feel as though this is an agency that has incredible powers to limit consumer choices,” Portman said. “At the same time, it does not have the kind of accountability other agencies have. That’s a bad combination.” 

Portman said it might be difficult for Obama to do a recess appointment. 

“Frankly, I’m not sure the House or Senate will be in recess much,” he said. “My sense is that recess appointments are unlikely, at least in the short term. A much better way to do this is to address our issues.” 

Republicans have vowed to block any nominee for director of that agency until its role and scope are changed. For example, they want Congress to have power to approve its annual budget. And they want the director to be accountable to the president or they want a multimember board to run the agency. Under current law, the director can only be removed for malfeasance in office, inefficiency or neglect of duty. 

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, dismissed Republican concerns that the new agency has too much power, saying the 45 Republican senators who opposed the nomination chose the concerns of “Wall Street over the consumers on Main Street.” 

He said Democrats have already sacrificed their first-choice pick for the director position — Elizabeth Warren, the architect of the idea and now a Democratic Senate candidate in Massachusetts — because of Republican concerns. 

Democrats had also pushed for the agency to be independent, but ceded to Republican demands that it be housed in another agency. It now is under the umbrella of the Federal Reserve. 

“It’s unprecedented in Senate history that a political party blocked the nomination of someone eminently qualified because they don’t like the agency,” Brown said. 

While the vote was expected, reaction from Democrats and consumer groups was swift and harsh. 

Said Chris Redfern, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party: “Rather than allow Rich to do the job America desperately needs him to do, Republicans including Senator Rob Portman have voted to allow us to return to the abusive Wall Street practices that led to the worst recession since the Great Depression.” 

The agency, which opened its doors in July, is tasked with preventing abusive and deceptive financial practices to ensure that consumers have the information they need to make the financial choices that are best for them. 

Obama announced his pick of Cordray, 52, to head the new agency in July. 

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