Republicans Reiterated Opposition to CFPB’s Structure

Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee yesterday reiterated their pledge to block former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray’s nomination to become director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unless the bureau’s structure and funding are changed.

“No one person should have so much unfettered power over the American people. It blatantly violates the spirit of our democratic system of government,” panel ranking member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said during the confirmation hearing. Shelby added that he had no personal misgivings about Cordray, who heads the CFPB’s enforcement division.

Forty-four GOP senators said in a May 2 letter to President Obama that they wouldn’t support any nominee for CFPB director unless the director is replaced by a five-member board; the agency is subjected to the congressional appropriations process; and banking regulators are given the authority to override CFPB regulations that could cause bank failures.

Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) said his Republican colleagues are holding Cordray’s nomination “hostage.” “This political gamesmanship is preventing Americans from receiving the consumer protections they deserve,” said Johnson, arguing that CFPB accountability exists because the president can fire the bureau director and the agency’s budget is capped.