Cordray: Confirmation brings certainty to industry oversight, consumer protection

Senate Republicans had held up the nomination, over concerns about the way the young agency is funded.

Cordray has been on the job as acting director of the CFPB since he was appointed during a Senate recess last January. But critics decried the appointment as unconstitutional, spurring a national debate over the limits of executive authority.

The Supreme Court has agreed to weigh on the issue via consideration of a similar dispute involving members of the National Labor Relations Board. 
But the Senate confirmation vote would likely make questions about Cordray’s authority moot.

“Today’s action brings added certainty to the industries we oversee and reinforces our responsibility to stand on the side of consumers and see that they are treated fairly in the financial marketplace,” Cordray said. “We will continue our essential work and each one of us, including myself, is grateful for the opportunity to serve our country in this important way.”

The CFPB was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, as a measure to crack down on the risky and predatory lending and investment practices that thrust the country into the economic crisis of 2008.

Since then, the bureau has issued a series of lending regulations and mortgage standards.

“For nearly two years, we have been focused on making consumer finance markets work better for the American people,” Cordray said.