Richard Cordray, CFPB Nominee, Could Get Recess Appointment In January

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has been pressing the Senate for months to confirm Richard Cordray as the director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, only to be blocked by Republicans. When lawmakers left town for the holidays, Republicans took advantage of Congress' procedural rules to keep both chambers from formally going on break, a move designed to prevent the president from making recess appointments.

But it appears that Obama has a small window next week -- possibly a mere 30 seconds -- when he could make recess appointments, and at least one consumer advocacy group expects the president to move on Cordray.

The second session of the 112th Congress begins on Jan. 3. Before the new session can be gaveled in, the current session must end. Between the two sessions, even if just momentarily, Congress will be in a state of recess and the president has the authority to make recess appointments.

Given Obama's tough talk earlier this month about not taking "any options off the table" when it comes to installing Cordray as the head of the CFPB, consumer advocates are predicting the White House is poised to move on Jan. 3.

"All signs point to them using that window," said Lisa Gilbert, deputy director of Congress Watch, a division of Public Citizen.

Gilbert said Jan. 3 presents "a real opportunity" for Obama to use his authority to get the CFPB, which began operations in late July, fully up and running. Cordray currently serves as head of the agency's enforcement division. Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin said last month that while the agency has been able to carry out some operations without a director, it can't monitor the activities of nonbank entities that have been "the source of some of the most harmful, deceptive, unfair and predatory lending practices" that led to the financial crisis.

Republicans have been vowing for months to oppose Cordray's confirmation -- or anybody's confirmation as director -- until key changes are made at the agency. Among their demands: eliminating the director's position, creating an oversight board instead, and requiring congressional approval of the agency's budget versus permitting it to draw funds from the Federal Reserve. The CFPB, the brainchild of Harvard law professor and now-Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, was created under last year's Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation. Democrats argue that Republicans' real aim is to undermine the agency's work altogether.

If Obama doesn't take action on Cordray on Jan. 3, Gilbert said Obama won't have another shot at making recess appointments until Feb. 20, Presidents Day.

A Senate Democratic leadership aide was unclear on what the White House may be planning for Cordray, but said it makes the most sense for Obama to act "after the new year, if they decided to do anything at all." A CFPB spokeswoman declined to comment, and a White House spokeswoman wouldn't say either way whether Obama has his eye on the Jan. 3 window.

"We decline to comment on speculation about any potential recess appointments," said White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage.

Comments

[Chris 1]

07:26 PM on 01/04/2012

Radical hypocrisy as always. Just remember the event when the power changes, which is close to a lock.

[ched]

10:46 AM on 01/02/2012

Pull the trigger, Mr. President, so American consumers can have a Happy New Year.

[Rixar13]

08:57 PM on 01/01/2012

"The second session of the 112th Congress begins on Jan. 3. Before the new session can be gaveled in, the current session must end. Between the two sessions, even if just momentarily, Congress will be in a state of recess and the president has the authority to make recess appointments. "

I look to President Obama for leadership and perhaps appoint Richard Cordray during the gap between sessions...

[RED66]

03:41 PM on 12/30/2011

Goody!

Yet another bureaucracy that will spend billions of dollars trying to protect the stupid from themselves.

Of course, it will be funded at the expense of the non-stupid.

Ain't gubment grate?

[askandtell]

10:44 PM on 12/30/2011

This is an agency that stopped unlawful foreclosures on our military, placed controls on subprime mortgages, and not allowing banks to raise credit card interest rates at any time for any reason. Only those that are making an underhanded buck on the backs of consumers would be against consumer protection.

[RED66]

09:35 AM on 12/31/2011

Funny, I thought Congress did that.

Why do you need a bureaucracy in D.C. to protect you from being stupid?

Were you foolish enough to get an ARM? If so, what part of "ADJUSTABLE RATE" did you fail to grasp?

Which part of your credit card contract did you fail to understand prior to signing your name?

Which part of government caused loan agencies to use sub-prime loans do you fail to understand?

How about educating yourself instead of looting me to pay for your foolishness?

[Erin Baldwin]

03:17 PM on 12/30/2011

Oh my God, not another agency to analyze the problems that a second grader could understand. Now, it's the "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau." We wouldn't need this agency if the existing agencies like the California State Bar were held accountable. For an example of what can happen when a powerful agency like th CA State Bar is called to task by someone they can't disbar: The 1st Amendment Civil Rights lawsuit brought by CA Journalist, Erin Baldwin, is now in the United States Court of Appeal and names Bank of America, the California State Bar, UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR),California Attorney General's Office, the County of Orange and the County of San Bernardino. See: http://cacorruptionwatch.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/federal-judge-josephine-tucker-acts-wo-jurisdiction-to-deny-disqualification-of-judge-david-o-carter-erin-baldwin-appeals/

[beckola]

11:47 AM on 12/30/2011

Thirty seconds, Mr. President, to make an indelible mark on your presidency. Do it.

[RED66]

03:41 PM on 12/30/2011

He already has an indelible mark of "F" on his presidency.

[ched]

10:47 AM on 01/02/2012

Hope you enjoy the next 4 years, then (or 12, if you count Hillary's two terms that follow).

[dwuzze]

11:00 AM on 12/30/2011

He has to, cause we have the most do NOthing congress in history. They're running around screaming about gays, abortion and social issues while AMERICANS are trying to wallow out of a near DEPRESSION of failed republican policy

[RED66]

03:42 PM on 12/30/2011

Hopefully, the Senate will change hands so Congress can accomplish something in 2013.

[dwuzze]

04:34 PM on 12/30/2011

Hopefully the senate and congress will both be dem so we don't have to endure another bout of deregulations like what happened when the repubs held both houses and set this economic disaster afoot with deregulation, unfunded wars and medicare part d giveaways, the expiration of PAYGO, enron clauses.. among others. It is really sad that some still buy the line that republicans were ever fiscally responsible.

[scottaarrg]

10:57 AM on 12/30/2011

Fill up all those stalled positions, 100 to 130 at a time. Now that would make boehnor but pucker, just in time for a good cry.

[314NewsJunkie]

10:50 AM on 12/30/2011

He can fill all open positions at one time and then he can get things moving. But those positions need to be filled with progressive people and not the same old thing like Eric Holder.

[RED66]

03:42 PM on 12/30/2011

You mean like the progressive people who are ruining the economy?

[TranceAnd]

04:25 PM on 12/30/2011

I didn't know bush junior was a progressive.

[dwuzze]

10:39 AM on 12/30/2011

I was hoping that would happen since repubs just will just stall any qualifed people the president nominates for their own purely political reasons .... Git'er done and don't allow the repubs to stall any more recovery as they have done since the 08 election and then doubled down at the "10 elections with their teabaggers .... that stalled the recovery for this entire year and nearly destroyed US credit

[whosallen]

10:02 AM on 12/30/2011

Do it! The obstructionists in the House and Senate need to see that they can only delay but not prevent government from working.

[RED66]

03:43 PM on 12/30/2011

Senate Majority Reid is the only obstructionist.

He's the one stopping all progress.

[wmnorton]

12:15 AM on 12/31/2011

How many times in the last three years has he declared a fillibuster? Senate minority leader McConnel has more than Three Hundred times. If you think that he is doing the right thing then own it, don't lie about it.

[whosallen]

11:07 AM on 12/31/2011

We have a constitutional Government - and it just seems to pucker some people up in an awful way...

[TeraWatt60]

09:50 AM on 12/30/2011

I hope Obama has a list of people drawn up and recess appoints them "en masse" it is about time that we chuck the Teapublican roadblocks and gameplaying...let them whine they are simply trying to force inaction and then blaming everyone else for the lack of progress. Of course, there are those who simply are to willfully i.gnorant to see the evidence in plain sight or have only Fox Propaganda to misinform them

[RED66]

03:43 PM on 12/30/2011

Since when was Senate Majority Reid a Tea Party member?!

[TeraWatt60]

07:17 PM on 12/30/2011

Senate Minority Leader Mitch "Turtleface" McConnell does the Teapublican bidding of delay, obstruct and whine and he is the one to kick to the curb not Reid...since when does the majority filibuster? RMcConnell ,however, every chance he gets

[Robert Lee Harrington]

09:27 AM on 12/30/2011

Republican Tea drinkers will want to invade Iraq.

Obama/Clinton2012

[stingjim]

09:26 AM on 12/30/2011

In record time Obama has wrecked our economy and turned the country into a welfare state. More than 50% of the population now relies on some level of government for support.
The number of people on welfare and Medicaid has doubled since he came into office. Now we all know sometime in the future this will end as we are living on borrowed money now.
Obama will do nothing to help employment. He will talk about it but like the deficit he will do nothing. Obama will not target white working voters. His target will be the unemployed and those believe they receive OTHER PEOPLE‘S MONEY.
Obama is only concerned with his re-election, not with the economy, but the perception of the economy. America is based on the system of you have the to succeed, not the right. You work and you gain reward; you shouldn't have it handed to you on a silver platter. If you give the money to the government to redistribute­, it never goes there and becomes useless "tax".

You get paid according to your needs and you work according to your talents and abilities. Everyone gets the same opportunities yet everyone also gets a choice!

Instantaneous economic recovery when President Barack Obama is voted out of office: The economy will start to recover late on election night, when people realize Obama is gone. Literally that night, you'll see businesses making hiring decisions.

[rbenjamin]

09:41 AM on 12/30/2011

This is one of those Kyl statements, right? Not to be taken factually. Or maybe you live at Fox News. Pathetic.

[stingjim]

09:49 AM on 12/30/2011

All of this is true. Wake Up. Do some reasearch. We are both on the same side if America goes bankrupt if we keep going under a President that still believe we must spend more?
Now since Obama has been president in the less than three years with Obama the debt has increased from $10.6 trillion to $15.3 trillion, a $4.7 trillion increase in about 27 months. Obama is increasing the debt by $1.6 trillion per year. Now he want to increase our debt to $16 trillion.
Each citizen, Including the Liberals that won't work owe $48,178.00. Now the Tax payers, the people who support the government owe $133,824.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[stingjim]

10:10 AM on 12/30/2011

So you do not work and believe obama will give you other people's money! You close your eyes to all of Obama's spending?

[TeraWatt60]

09:46 AM on 12/30/2011

So essentially in your tiny little mind the entire Great Recession was a **snit** caused by plutocrats upset that a Teapublican is not in the White House?? You blame Obama for the sad state of economic inequality,yet I did not see or hear of anyone going door to door to force people onto "welfare" or Medicaid? But I did see a whole lot of economic damage caused by irresponsible Teapublican regulatory and fiscal policies that created the conditions that forced so many people onto Food Stamps, Unemployment insurance and the like. The real "job creators" in the economy are consumers and not a few greedy billionaires and until more consumers have the ability to create demand no one will hire, not the other way around. Any CEO that bases hiring decisions on their personal tax rate and not the demand for their products or service is simply incompetent.

[stingjim]

09:59 AM on 12/30/2011

So you want to play the Blame game and let Obama run us into the ditch?
You must believe that Obama will give you other people's money. You probably do not pay taxes.

If you take money out of the consumer pockets, there is less spending and a slower economy. If you tax business with things like a "wind fall profit tax" against oil, they will explore less and oil prices will increase. If you socialize medicine and try to cap profits on pharmaceut­ical companies, you will decrease incentive to invest in cures in things like Cancer.

America is based on the system of you have the opportunity to succeed, not the right. You work and you gain reward; you shouldn't have it handed to you on a silver platter. What people fail to understand is, if you give the money to the government to redistribu­te, it never goes there and becomes useless "tax".

You get paid according to your needs and you work according to your talents and abilities. Everyone gets the same opportunities yet everyone also gets a choice!

If you don't work, you hamper the community and the community lets you know it's not appreciated, putting it mildly.

[RED66]

03:45 PM on 12/30/2011

The Great Depression was caused by government meddling. It was lengthened by more and worse government meddling.

Just like the mess today.

You can start your education here:

http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/wew/articles/09/GreatMythsOfTheGreatDepression.pdf

[Okieborn]

09:25 AM on 12/30/2011

Mr. President,
You being given another chance to show you are in charge !
Do This for your base and this Great Nation !

[nancytheragingliberal]

09:37 AM on 12/30/2011

Okie, I'm with you. His base screamed for the great, Elizabeth Warren and got zip. It is time for him to put on his big man shoes and get this done. I suspect millions of votes will come his way. Who cares what nasty, p phony repubs say? The little w. guy put his finger in our eyes for 8, miserable years and did as he pleased. Heck, he did not know a Dem existed for those 8 years. Mr. Pres., listen to OIkieb and do it, NOW.

[beckola]

11:52 AM on 12/30/2011

All true. I wish it were Elizabeth he were appointing, though.