After nearly two years of wrangling, former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray was sworn in by Vice President Joseph Biden this morning as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Cordray was originally nominated for the CFPB position in July 2011, and Republicans threatened to block Senate confirmation. Their contention: The power of the CFPB should not rest in the hands of a single director. But President Barack Obama bypassed a Senate vote in January 2012, when he used a controversial “recess appointment” to install Cordray to the post. Since then, Cordray has been leading the agency.
Yesterday, Republicans voted 66-34 to allow Cordray’s confirmation to proceed.
The CFPB is expected to step up auto finance enforcement activity in the coming months, on the heels of a June 27 order that a pair of lenders refund $6.5 million to military personnel.
Here’s a message Cordray released today about the confirmation:
