Al Franken Endorses Elizabeth Warren For Consumer Protection Bureau

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) joined the effort to persuade President Obama to appoint Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Bureau in an interview with the Huffington Post on Saturday. Earlier that day, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) said he was endorsing Warren for the position and has made his position known to the White House, as has Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

More than 60 House members have called on the president to nominate Warren and more than 160,000 people have signed an online petition.

"I really like Elizabeth Warren," said Franken, adding that he often had her on as a guest on his talk-radio show. "Her work on bankruptcy is what put her on our radar at the show in 2005."

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has questioned whether she'd be able to get 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, though the statute would allow the president to appoint her on an indefinite basis until a nominee is confirmed.

Franken said he wasn't sure whether the White House wanted the fight. "The White House has to decide if they want a confirmation fight. I don't know what their considerations are. In my consideration, I think Elizabeth would be the best," he said.

Comments

[Gnarly]

09:25 PM on 08/05/2010

Franken Rulz!

[risingsun4995]

09:26 PM on 07/26/2010

Senator Al Franken is proving (by his willingness to intelligently take on people) that he is no lightweight. The man is a reformer. Anyone who supports Warren to head a new consumer protection agency and also is willing to fight for a end to the filibuster has my support.

[ssmack3]

07:49 PM on 07/26/2010

Al Franken - the illegitimate Senator from Minnesota, elected by felons?

[louisr]

03:28 AM on 07/27/2010

Oh pipe down genius, get your facts straight

[Robert Masters]

09:21 AM on 07/27/2010

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704518904575365063352229680.html

He's right.

[mea25]

06:33 PM on 07/26/2010

I like Al Franken because he thinks outside the box. He is a breath of fresh air and we need more like him.

[Flarvin]

06:09 PM on 07/26/2010

Al Franken is so big that he gets his own page on HP? Um, okay.

[Rosanneofpgh]

05:50 AM on 07/27/2010

Yes, he is and he DESERVES his own page on HP!

[plan-uts]

05:51 PM on 07/26/2010

Minn., did you all have a collective meltdown and vote this clown into office ?

[caymen]

07:17 PM on 07/26/2010

Looks like you're havin' the meltdown cupcake. Boo-hoo...

[ssmack3]

07:50 PM on 07/26/2010

Being a Conservative from MN, I can only hang my head in shame. His election can be attributed to illegal felons voting; BO on the ticket; and just a downright bassackwards state!

[Rosanneofpgh]

05:54 AM on 07/27/2010

Bitter much, refuck??? ( refuck is my new pet name for repubelicans) You SHOULD hang your head in shame for being a conservative.

[DesertDawgAlpha]

02:39 PM on 07/26/2010

Ms. Warren is so valuable at all things that she is the ONLY person who can fix all parts of the government and beat Lebron James in a one on one game. Without her we're sunk - no one else could ever do this job. We're screwed without her. Thank you HP for the relentless cheerleading.

[IzzyIdol]

11:31 PM on 07/27/2010

And we want to do her too. All those brains. All that integrity. And under The Librarian disguise, a raving beauty. Epic win.

[TitaniumAvatar]

02:33 PM on 07/26/2010

His election was the start of the real 'Al Franken Decade'!

Keep up the good work, Senator.

[furby3]

12:35 PM on 07/26/2010

The more time passes, the more I think that Obama was a GOP backed Dem candidate. If the GOP couldn't win the election, they needed to plant a Dem that could. I know it sounds crazy, but I wouldn't be surprised if in 40 or 50 years (if we're still around), history bears this out.

[IzzyIdol]

11:32 PM on 07/27/2010

I like the way you think.

[mburgh]

12:23 PM on 07/26/2010

Elizabeth Warren for president.

[beebster]

12:15 PM on 07/26/2010

Why would anyone fight against Miss Warren? She is awsome, she tells us the truth no matter which party it might hurt, and yes the truth hurts somethimes.

[Albertmum]

12:12 PM on 07/26/2010

You go Al!

[tacevad]

11:52 AM on 07/26/2010

Al endorses her and Republican's and Bankers deplore her... can't come with a much better recommendation than that!

[RockyMissouri]

09:05 PM on 07/26/2010

Fanned...You're telling me......!

[angrymanspokane]

11:41 AM on 07/26/2010

OK, Stuart...

[AlexNYC]

11:23 AM on 07/26/2010

I recall Elizabeth Warren appearing a few times on Al Franken's radio show, that's when I first became aware of her dilliegence to protecting consumers. I find it disturing that people feel they have to lobby Obama to impress on him how qualified she is to head the CFPB. Obama is supposed to be the antidote to 8 years of Bush, andf instead we are seeing a continuation of installing corporate cronies in regulatory positions.

[darma2u]

03:58 PM on 07/26/2010

Yes! and because H
Geithner 'prefers' Michael Barr (who in essence already works for him..) we need an outsider..who values the middle class and will support us. and inspite of the obvious apparently we have to tell the Whitehouse and our Congressions Reps..what we want. If Not us, who will they be hearing.