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COLUMBUS, Ohio (CGE) - The National Association of Attorneys General sent a letter to Senate leaders calling nominee Richard Cordray, Ohio's last attorney general who earned a reputation for taking on Wall Street bankers and protecting consumers, "brilliant and balanced."
The letter sent Tuesday champions Cordray to become the first head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a new creation Democrats support and Republicans want to terminate that Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard professor of law now running in Massachusetts for the U.S. Senate, is given credit for thinking of and for pushing to completion.
During the summer, Obama picked Cordray, a former Jeopardy! TV show champion, to lead. His confirmation is pending in the Senate.
According to published reports, the White House enlisted a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general to help break a blockade by Senate Republicans of Cordray's appointment.
"We understand the political nature of this," said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, a Republican who still has reservations about the bureau, in the letter. He said of the matter, "If there's gonna be a director, we can't think of anybody who would be better."
The fair-haired Cordray, who has been elected to other offices in Ohio, found himself in the middle of a political standoff over what the CFPB should look like. While legislators from both parties have already praised his experience and qualifications, Senate Republicans have vowed to block any nominee unless structural changes are made to a bureau they didn't want in the firsts place and one they hope to do away with by defunding it.
The CFPB was created last year when Congress approved a massive overhaul of the nation's financial system in the wake of the meltdown on Wall Street that nearly took the country into a second Great Depression. While the consumer protection bureau merges powers previously scattered among seven different agencies, it lacks the authority to write many new rules and oversee financial institutions such as payday lenders until a director is confirmed.
The president has been criticized for waiting until nearly a year after the CFPB was created to pick his nominee. The Occupy Wall Street protest movement in New York, around the nation and the world, continues to grow, showcasing the anger consumers have over new bank fees.
Yesterday, an Obama economic adviser, Brian Deese, joined attorneys general on a conference call with reporters that was organized by the White House. He said their letter was intended to increase the stakes for Republicans to answer the question of "why they aren't acting," The Washington Post reported.
"It's important from our perspective to continue to push and continue to add voices," Deese said according to reports. "There is no reason why the Senate cannot and should not move forward."
The Senate banking committee, earlier this year, approved Cordray's nomination along party lines, which cleared the way for a full Senate vote.
The Post said Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) blamed Republicans on Tuesday for holding up Cordray's confirmation. "It's really unfortunate that we have this obstructionism," Reid said.
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