Liberals rejoice, financial sector weeps: With her election to the Senate, Warren became one of the most powerful people in the country; now, she’s headed to one of the most powerful committees in the Senate. Financial regulation is Warren’s specialty; she helped oversee the distribution of TARP funds in 2009 and essentially created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We can’t imagine the bank lobby wanted her on this committee, but then again, there’s probably not much they could have done to prevent it. (Photo: AP) source
![Warren to nab powerful committee seat? According to several Senate sources, Senator-elect and populist hero Elizabeth Warren has a good chance of getting a seat on the powerful Senate Banking Committee. This is a logical fit for Warren, architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and would give her great power in her efforts to curb deceptive and unscrupulous practices on the part of financial institutions. “[G]iven her prominent work on those issues, she would certainly have a very good shot” at getting a spot on the committee, an aide tells Reuters. Having Warren on Banking is essentially the Republicans’ worst nightmare, but it’s worth noting that it’s a nightmare entirely of their own short-sited construction. source](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_md8mpzSxGQ1qas8z9o1_500.jpg)
Warren to nab powerful committee seat? According to several Senate sources, Senator-elect and populist hero Elizabeth Warren has a good chance of getting a seat on the powerful Senate Banking Committee. This is a logical fit for Warren, architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and would give her great power in her efforts to curb deceptive and unscrupulous practices on the part of financial institutions. “[G]iven her prominent work on those issues, she would certainly have a very good shot” at getting a spot on the committee, an aide tells Reuters. Having Warren on Banking is essentially the Republicans’ worst nightmare, but it’s worth noting that it’s a nightmare entirely of their own short-sited construction. source
The Massachusetts Senate race is shaping up to be one of the closest races of 2012, with Brown and Warren consistently running within just a few points of one another. If you missed tonight’s debate, here are two recaps.
» What this means for consumers: This settlement isn’t simply something that affects Capital One’s customers — rather, it helps set some guidelines for the entire industry, by forcing stronger warnings on add-on services sold by credit card companies; by setting a standard for clear payouts of refunds to consumers; and by discouraging other companies from selling the programs, which many consumer advocates dismiss as “junk products.” Simply put, the Capital One settlement sets a future standard for the financial industry as they work with the CFPB.
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It’s not about Richard Cordray. That has become abundantly clear in the recent political jockeying over President Obama’s efforts to appoint a head to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which came into existence via the Dodd-Frank financial reform law from 2010. Republicans have made it clear their reason for this blockage isn’t so much Cordray himself, who was a quite popular Attorney General in Ohio, but rather the structure of the bureau itself; they want a board to be in charge, as opposed to a single director, which many Democrats have dismissed as a means of muddying or weakening the bureau’s regulatory ability. In any event, the final vote tally was 53 yeas, 45 nays, which due to the Republican vow to filibuster the nomination is insufficient (a 60 vote super-majority is required to override the filibuster process). source
swagandpassion asks: Is the Elizabeth Warren report being eliminated by Obama, a political situation? I would assume she would be ideal, but how big a fight would it be to restructure the agency if she was appointed?
» SFB says: As far as we can tell, that’s what happened. From an LA Times piece on the matter: “Warren appeared the obvious choice for the agency’s powerful director. But strong Republican opposition made the White House nervous that the nomination would be filibustered in the Senate, preventing Warren from playing any role in organizing the agency.” In case you aren’t familiar with this drama, this video basically confirms this fact. If you ask us, GOP distrust of Warren had much less to do with Warren herself and more to do with the fact that they want to weaken the organization right off the bat. Remember, the law creating the organization passed with only two GOP votes in the Senate. — Ernie @ SFB
» SFB also says: There are rumblings that Warren is considering running for Scott Brown’s Senate seat in Massachusetts next year. It’s possible that she’s already informed Obama of her intent to run, which would a) save the President a long, protracted nomination battle, and b) potentially flip a Senate seat to the Democrats. Conversely, if she hadn’t yet decided, Obama’s decision not to appoint her to CFPB might make that decision a bit easier. Of course, this is all pure speculation, but it’s worth keeping in mind. — Seth @ SFB
President Barack Obama has chosen a candidate other than Elizabeth Warren as director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a person briefed on the matter.
The president’s choice is a person who already works at the consumer agency, the person said today. Obama may make the nomination as soon as next week, another person briefed on the administration’s plans said.
The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process isn’t public, didn’t give the name of the choice.
I am so incredibly disappointed in our president.
(Source: rubenfeld)
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