The Senate approved his nomination to serve as CFPB director last night. It ends a two-year struggle to have his nomination considered. President Obama installed Cordray, Ohio's former attorney general, in January 2012 after Republicans refused to allow a confirmation vote. That changed yesterday when Senate leaders reached an agreement to move forward.The Teamsters strongly supported his nomination. Teamster General President James P. Hoffa previously lauded Cordray's record:
Richard Cordray is a solid public official who has done much to protect Ohio's retirees, investors and business owners from financial fraud.The consumer bureau was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law that overhauled federal financial regulatory powers. Republicans, however, did not like several aspects of it, including having a single director instead of a five-member commission.
But as Americans for Financial Reform first highlighted and we mentioned earlier this year, the CFPB under his leadership has gotten a lot done for Americans, including returning more than $450 million to consumers cheated by credit card companies and writing new regulations that prohibit banks and mortgage companies from disguising costs and making loans borrowers can't afford.
Hard-working Americans deserve an advocate who will be on our side. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said it best earlier this year during a March hearing:
The American people deserve a Congress that worries less about helping big banks and more about helping regular people who've been cheated on mortgages, on credit cards, on student loans, on credit reports.Amen.
