Yesterday, the Senate Banking Committee voted along party lines (12-10) to confirm President Obama’s nomination of Richard Cordray as the first Director of the CFPB. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) released a statement praising the vote and chastising the 44 Senate Republicans who have vowed to block Cordray’s approval by the full Senate. As previously reported, the Senate Republicans announced long ago that they will not approve any nominee as Director unless and until structural changes to the CFPB are made. President Obama and the Democrats have not agreed. And, as a result, there is no Director of the CFPB and it appears unlikely that there will be a Director until at least early 2013 when President Obama’s term ends. Even then, it seems unlikely that a Director will be confirmed unless President Obama is re-elected and the Democrats achieve a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
