Jim Finklestein Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 [b]Obama to Eliminate Warren as Consumer Head[/b] By Mike Dorning and Carter Dougherty - Jul 16, 2011 12:16 PM AT Elizabeth Warren in her Washington office. Warren has infuriated bankers and alienated half of Washington, all in the name of a new consumer protection agency she may not get to run. Photographer: Martin Schoeller/Bloomberg Businessweek President Barack Obama has chosen a candidate other than Elizabeth Warren as director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a person briefed on the matter. The president’s choice is a person who already works at the consumer agency, the person said yesterday. Obama may make the nomination as soon as next week, another person briefed on the administration’s plans said. The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process isn’t public, didn’t name Obama’s choice. Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard professor, was appointed last fall by Obama to set up the consumer bureau until a director was named. Warren previously was head of the congressional watchdog panel overseeing the bank bailout. Raj Date, a top deputy to Warren at the consumer bureau, was on a short list of candidates to become director, Bloomberg News reported last month, citing a person briefed on the process. Date, currently the bureau’s associate director for research, markets and regulations, is a former banker with Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) and Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) Consumer bureau spokeswoman Jen Howard declined to comment, as did Jen Psaki, a White House spokeswoman. Oversight Gap The consumer bureau, which is to begin formal operations on July 21, was established by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial- regulatory overhaul to fill what lawmakers said was a gap in oversight of financial products such as mortgages and credit cards whose abuse contributed to the 2008 credit crisis. The bureau’s director requires confirmation by the Senate. After 44 Republican senators announced in May that they wouldn’t vote to approve any candidate to run the bureau without changes in its structure, analysts said the White House might have to resort to a temporary appointment during a congressional recess. Sixty of the 100 senators are required to vote for a nomination because of procedural rules. The legislation requires a director confirmed by the Senate or appointed in recess before the bureau has authority to supervise and regulate non-bank financial firms such as mortgage originators, payday lenders and credit bureaus. It also isn’t able to enforce rules against “abusive” consumer products, a legal standard Congress created in Dodd-Frank. Obama didn’t nominate Warren last fall after then-Senator Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who headed the Banking Committee, said she couldn’t win confirmation. Since then, several potential candidates have rejected overtures, including Jennifer Granholm, the former governor of Michigan, and Ted Kaufman, a former Democratic senator from Delaware, people briefed on the search said. Clash With Republicans Warren has clashed with House Republicans repeatedly about the agency’s mandate and about her role in settlement talks between banks, state and federal agencies over problems with the foreclosure process. One hearing, on May 24, turned into a dispute about scheduling during which Representative Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, accused Warren of lying. Date earned an engineering degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a law degree from Harvard University. He was senior vice president for corporate strategy and development at Capital One and a managing director in the financial institutions group at Deutsche Bank. During the debate over Dodd-Frank, Date headed the Cambridge Winter Center for Financial Institutions Policy, a research group he founded. When she appointed Date to the unit that will draft rules for credit cards, mortgages, student loans and payday lenders, Warren said that he and his team would “bring a wealth of experience in the financial services industry, government, non- profits, community banking and academia that will help us build a world-class” research and regulations unit. In an interview earlier this year with Bloomberg News, Date, who joined Capital One in 2001, recalled his tenure there during the housing bubble. He said he told his colleagues that schemes to make quick money off customers would have affect the bank’s reputation and balance sheet. “I was very, very boring at cocktail parties,” Date said in the interview. “But I happened to have experience at the intersection of issues that were uniquely important in the fall of 2008.” To contact the reporters on this story: Mike Dorning in Washington at morning@bloomberg.net; Carter Dougherty in Washington at cdougherty6@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lawrence Roberts at lroberts13@bloomberg.net; Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net [url="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-15/obama-eliminates-warren-as-consumer-head.html"]Link[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Im sadly not surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 [quote name='Jamie_B' timestamp='1310853760' post='1001184'] Im sadly not surprised. [/quote] Guess it could have been worse. Still would have rather seen Warren in the role. [b]Cordray is Obama's choice to lead Consumer Financial Protection Bureau[/b] Sunday, July 17, 2011 10:00 AM BY JESSICA WEHRMAN AND JACK TORRY The Columbus Dispatch Richard Cordray RICHARD CORDRAY Age: 52 Current role: Chief of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Experience: Ohio Attorney General, Jan. 2009 to Jan. 2011; Franklin County Treasurer, 2002-2006; adjunct professor, Ohio State University Coolege of Law, 1989-2002; state representative, 1991-1993; first solicitor general in Ohio's history, 1993-1994; sole practitioner Of Counsel, Kirkland & Ellis, 1995-2007 Other: Has argued seven cases before the United States Supreme Court, including by special appointment of both the Clinton and Bush Justice Departments. Cordray is a graduate of Michigan State University, Oxford University and the University of Chicago Law School. He was editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law School Review and later clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy. In 2008, he received a Financial Services Champion award from the U.S. Small Business Administration and a Government Service Award from NeighborWorks America. In 2005, he was named "County Leader of the Year" by American City & County Magazine. In 1987, he was a five-time undefeated "Jeopardy" champ. President Barack Obama will nominate former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head a powerful new consumer protection agency, White House officials said. At a White House event Monday, Obama will announce his choice of Cordray, 52, who is currently serving as director of enforcement for the new agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. By picking Cordray, Obama hopes to avoid a bruising Senate confirmation battle that would have occurred had he selected Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor who came up with the idea and ultimately helped to set up the agency. "Richard Cordray has spent his career advocating for middle class families, from his tenure as Ohio's Attorney General, to his most recent role as heading up the enforcement division at the (bureau) and looking out for ordinary people in our financial system," Obama said. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called the selection of Cordray a "great move. There's no question of Rich's qualifications." He predicted the Senate will likely confirm Cordray for the post "unless they get to be hyper-partisan. My only fear is Republicans don't think we should have consumer protection rules." The Cordray selection places pressure on Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who has voiced objections about some of the powers of a new agency. Brown said, "I fully expect Rob Portman to support Rich Cordray." Obama acknowledged Warren's leadership in a statement announcing Cordray's nomination, thanking Warren "not only for her extraordinary work standing up the new agency over the past year, but also for her many years of impassioned leadership, and her fierce defense of a simple idea: ordinary people deserve to be treated fairly and honestly in their financial dealings. "This agency was Elizabeth's idea, and through sheer force of will, intelligence, and a bottomless well of energy, she has made, and will continue to make, a profound and positive difference for our country," he said. Warren, who hand-picked Cordray to serve in the agency shortly after his loss in last November's elections, expressed support for his selection. "Rich has always had my strong support because he is tough and he is smart-and that's exactly the combination this new agency needs," she said. "He was one of the first senior leaders I recruited for the agency, and his work and commitment have made it clear that he will make a stellar director." The change seemed satisfactory to progressives who had fought for Warren to be named director. "With her track record of standing up to Wall Street and fighting for consumers, Elizabeth Warren was the best qualified to lead this bureau that she conceived -- and we imagine Richard Cordray would agree," said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. The committee collected more than 350,000 petition signatures supporting Warren. "That said, Rich Cordray has been a strong ally of Elizabeth Warren's and we hope he will continue her legacy of holding Wall Street accountable." If confirmed by the Senate, Cordray, a Grove City native and former "Jeopardy" champ, will lead a new, independent agency tasked with acting as a watchdog for American consumers. The bureau's mission is to prevent abusive and deceptive financial practices and ensure that consumers have the information they need to make the financial choices that are best for them. Senate Republicans have vowed not to confirm any nominee until the administration agrees to substantial revisions in the new agency. In particular, the Republicans want a board to supervise the agency rather than a single director such as Cordray. They also want Congress to have the power to appropriate the annual budget for the agency. Cordray today telephoned Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who defeated Cordray last November. DeWine said that Cordray "is very well-qualified for this job. He'll do a good job. I wish him well." Though the bureau is set to open its doors Thursday, it's been active in the year since its creation, pushing initiatives aimed at making credit card providers simplify their forms so consumers can better understand the fees and costs associated with credit; working to simplify the forms that consumers receive when they shop for a mortgage so they have easy-to-understand information that helps them compare different mortgage offers and find the one that's best for them; and policing abuses in consumer financial products like credit cards and mortgages and for making sure people have the information they need to make the decisions that are best for them. In an interview with the Dispatch last month, Cordray said his credo is "simplifying and clarifying" complex financial agreements so average consumers can understand what they are buying. For example, all too often, credit card agreements were so complex that even college graduates could not figure out the interest rate that would be charged and how the financial penalties would be imposed. "If we are enforcing the law against the dishonest businesses, the ones that are competing unfairly and illegally with the honest businesses, then that's better for all concerned," Cordray said. "It cleans the markets." Cordray has been considered a leading contender for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2014. It is unclear whether his nomination to head the bureau will change his future political plans. Dispatch public affairs editor Darrel Rowland contributed to this report. [url="http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/07/17/cordray-picked-by-president.html?sid=101"]Link[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sois Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Frees Warren up for a presidential run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Well if the rumor about Geithner leaving after this debit mess is over (hope so) is true I hope she gets to take his place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted July 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 [quote name='Jamie_B' timestamp='1310950772' post='1001387'] Well if the rumor about Geithner leaving after this debit mess is over (hope so) is true I hope she gets to take his place. [/quote] I'd love for Obama to select her for that role. It would certainly go a long way towards showing me he isn't a whore for the bankers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Tigers Johnson| Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 [quote name='Jim Finklestein' timestamp='1310953865' post='1001391'] I'd love for Obama to select her for that role. It would certainly go a long way towards showing me he isn't a whore for the bankers. [/quote] This! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 [quote name='Jim Finklestein' timestamp='1310953865' post='1001391'] I'd love for Obama to select her for that role. It would certainly go a long way towards showing me he isn't a whore for the bankers. [/quote] [quote name='Tigers Johnson' timestamp='1311002626' post='1001445'] This! [/quote] Agree but I dont have much faith he isnt a whore to the bankers anymore. I dont have much faith whomever gets elected its a whore to the bankers anymore. Watch as Romney who has raised more money than any other R (by way of the oligarchs) gets the nomination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 And if all else fails ... http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/07/paging-senator-warren-case-her-campaign/40087/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted July 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 [quote name='Jamie_B' timestamp='1311005204' post='1001457'] And if all else fails ... http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/07/paging-senator-warren-case-her-campaign/40087/ [/quote] Hope she runs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 [quote name='Jim Finklestein' timestamp='1311020818' post='1001499'] Hope she runs! [/quote] Me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.