WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - President Barack Obama is reportedly ready to press on with his controversial nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head a new federal consumer protection agency.
According to a Roll Call report, White House officials say Cordray's nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to be voted on Thursday, even though his confirmation is far from a sure thing. No Republican on the Senate Banking Committee voted to confirm Cordray in an October vote.
The CFPB was created by the Dodd-Frank regulatory overhaul and is tasked with regulating consumer financial products. Republicans want changes made to the bureau before a director is picked, while the American Tort Reform Association criticized the relationship Cordray built with private attorneys while Ohio AG.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said in October that Obama and Senate Democrats have not tried to work with Republicans on improving the accountability of the bureau.
"Today's vote by the Senate Banking Committee was premature," Shelby said after the Banking Committee's vote. "No nominee for the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection should receive consideration until the Democrats are ready to stop playing politics and work with us to make the Bureau accountable. It's their choice."
In November, Cordray lost to former Lt. Gov. and U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, a Republican, in the state attorney general race. He had been elected to the post in November 2008 to serve the remainder of the term held by the previous attorney general, Marc Dann. Dann had resigned in May 2008 amid a sex scandal.
Prior to being attorney general, Cordray served as the Ohio State Treasurer and as treasurer of Franklin County, Ohio. He also served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives and as the state's first solicitor.
In addition to Republicans, the American Tort Reform Association also has said it is skeptical of Cordray's nomination to the post.
ATRA questions his relationships with private attorneys he hired to pursue state lawsuits while serving as attorney general.
"Mr. Cordray appears to share CFPB architect Elizabeth Warren's often voiced belief that litigation is a perfectly legitimate means by which to craft public policy, even though it sidesteps duly elected lawmakers and executives, and even though it lacks proper transparency," ATRA President Tiger Joyce said.
Private attorneys hired by Cordray to sue the three major credit rating agencies are currently appealing a ruling against them. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of five public pension funds, claim $457 million in losses and allege the agencies helped cause the collapse of the housing and credit markets.
The private firms hired by Cordray for the lawsuit were: Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein of New York; Entwistle & Capucci of New York; and Schottenstein Zox & Dunn of Columbus.
Employees of the Lieff firm gave $50,000 to the Ohio Democratic Party in 2008. The party gave Cordray more than $1.8 million for his campaign that year. The Schottenstein firm gave $23,500 to Cordray from 2008-10.
Sunday, the White House released a report on the importance of finding a director to head the CFPB. The report was authored by the National Economic Council.
From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.