Bloomberg: Obama Eyes Ex-Banker for Consumer Chief

[flpoljunkie]

It would be refreshing for President Obama to visibly fight for Elizabeth Warren to head the CFPB and recess appoint her, if need be--especially if Republicans have vowed to block anyone he nominates to head the agency. That said, if Elizabeth Warren say she does not want the job and recommends her deputy Raj Date, I will respect her decision.

Obama Eyes Ex-Banker for Consumer Chief

By Carter Dougherty, Robert Schmidt and Mike Dorning -
Jun 8, 2011

President Barack Obama is considering nominating Raj Date, a former banker with Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) and Deutsche Bank AG, as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a person briefed on the process.

Date is already at the consumer bureau, working as a top deputy to Elizabeth Warren, the Obama administration adviser who is setting up the new agency. He is on a short list of candidates to become director, the person said.

Obama hasn’t made a final decision on who to nominate to the post, which requires Senate confirmation, the person said. The agency is to begin formal operations on July 21, one year after Obama signed the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul into law.

Date’s nomination could be a way for the Obama administration to tamp down political controversy over the leadership of the consumer agency, which is one of the centerpieces of Dodd-Frank. Warren could urge her supporters to endorse his nomination, and his industry experience has been praised by banks that would fall under the bureau’s oversight.

Still, after 44 Republican senators announced last month that they wouldn’t vote to approve any candidate to run the bureau without changes in its structure, the White House might have to resort to a temporary appointment during a congressional recess. Sixty of the 100 senators are effectively required to vote for a nomination due to procedural rules.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-08/obama-eyes-ex-banker-for-consumer-chief.html