Senate GOP blocks consumer bureau nominee
Move raises possibility of recess appointment for Richard Cordray.
Senate Republicans blocked President Obama's nominee to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday, raising the possibility of a recess appointment as a 2012-focused White House tries to cast the GOP as Wall Street's party.
The Senate's refusal to consider Richard Cordray as head of the agency was expected. Republican leaders, long opposed to the bureau created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform, have insisted the law be rewritten to make structural changes to the agency before they would consider the nominee. The tactic is a new one and it underscores the extreme level of partisanship that characterizes this Congress.
The White House might not have an opportunity for a recess appointment if the Senate remains in pro forma session.