The Senate confirmed Richard Cordray in a 66-34 vote Tuesday as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ending a two-year hold on his nomination, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
Carter Dougherty and Cheyenne Hopkins write Republicans stalled Cordray’s confirmation because they wanted changes to the agency’s structure such as on the director’s power and congressional control over the bureau’s spending budget.
According to the report, Cordray was nominated by President Obama in July 2011 and installed in January 2012 through a recess appointment.
Congress established the bureau under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to regulate consumer financial products and services.
The law gives CFPB authority to monitor banks with assets of more than $10 billion, Bloomberg reports.
“Director Cordray and the staff of the CFPB are always happy to brief members of Congress about the work of the agency,†Jen Howard, a CFPB spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail to Bloomberg.
“He told several members that the CFPB is willing to provide a briefing on our budget, as we have done many times in the past,” she added.
