Obama Won’t Make Recess Appointments Today

[Spazito]

67. Obama to name new consumer watchdog

"The long-delayed start of a new consumer protection bureau took a major step forward Wednesday with an end run by the White House around Congressional Republicans who had been holding out for changes that consumer advocates say would have substantially weakened the agency.

President Barack Obama will use a recess appointment to name Richard Cordray as the nation's chief consumer watchdog despite strong Republican opposition, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer announced in a tweet.

The consumer agency was created after the 2008 financial industry meltdown, championed by Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, who had lobbied heavily for an new, independent financial regulator devoted solely to the protecting the interests of consumers. But her forceful attacks on the financial services industry made her appointment to head the new agency politically untenable.

snip

Obama's end run around the Senate is likely to cause an uproar among Republicans in Congress. Before leaving for its holiday break, the Senate imposed a schedule of "pro forma" legislative sessions to bock a recess appointment. The White House believes the schedule is a gimmick that doesn't interfere with Obama’s the power to make the short-term appointment. Cordray would serve for at least the next two years."

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/04/9947364-obama-to-name-new-consumer-watchdog