If Congress can’t do it, the President can – or will. Senate Republicans had attempted through filibustering at every turn to block Cordray’s nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) last month, but President Obama decided not to dispense with Congressional delay. Instead, in a bold move, the President decided to use his Presidential power and pen to make a recess appointment in order to overcome their objections. The President is authorized to make recess appointments under Article 2 (Presidential Power) of the Constitution. Senate Republicans were not happy with the President's action, and declared it to be an abuse of executive power.
Mr. Cordray, 52 and a former Ohio attorney general, will assume the new federal watch-dog position. Displaying his willingness and ability to serve, he has been leading the day-to-day functions of the bureau as an employee of the Treasury Department up to now.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Richard Cordray graduated from Michigan State University in 1981 summa cum laude and with Honors from The University of Chicago Law School (1986) on a full academic scholarship. He had received his Masters of Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford in 1983 with full honors. Cordray’s career is sterling, whether as a law professor at Ohio State University, a practicing attorney specializing in constitutional issues, or as a state Representative of Ohio. During the latter, Richard Cordray was the principal sponsor of legislation fighting crime, preserving the environment, and protecting children and families.
President Obama reportedly made the move in one more effort to protect the interests of middle-class Americans, who are suffering as a result of the Great Recession, which stemmed in large part from abuses in the financial system.
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