Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who four years ago was a Harvard Law professor crusading for the creation of a consumer protection agency to police the abusive practices that harmed millions of Americans during the financial crisis, is now fighting from inside Congress to keep the upstart Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s power intact, the Washington Post reported today. Her Republican colleagues in the Senate vow to block the confirmation of CFPB director Richard Cordray and are urging President Obama to alter the structure of the bureau by subjecting it to annual appropriations and installing a five-member board for greater transparency and accountability. The White House, however, insists that the bureau remain an independent regulator. Working alongside Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Warren held news conferences this week calling on Republicans to bring Cordray’s confirmation to a vote. In response to GOP claims that the bureau operates without controls, the senators noted that CFPB can be overruled by the Financial Stability Oversight Council and has a statutory cap on its funding.
