Nominee to head Consumer Bureau advances

{mosads}Specifically, 44 Republican senators have told the White House the director position at the CFPB should be replaced by a commission, that its budget should be under the control of congressional appropriators, and that other financial regulators should have greater veto power over the agency’s decisions.

Republicans contend these changes are not extreme, and help bring more oversight to an agency that is currently too powerful. CFPB backers contend Republicans are simply trying to weaken the bureau, and Democrats have given no indication they are weighing the changes.

In fact, Republicans have taken pains to largely steer clear of criticizing Cordray directly. Instead, they have couched their opposition to his nomination almost entirely within the broader opposition to the CFPB as is.

The CFPB officially opened its doors in July, one year after Dodd-Frank became law. Without a director, the agency still is able to regulate financial institutions, using the powers it received from several other regulators. However, the CFPB is not able to use brand-new powers without a director in place, which includes regulating non-bank institutions like payday lenders.

Cordray was nominated by President Obama in July.