Obama puts bark in consumer watchdog: Elizabeth Warren

[babylonsister]

This is probably so disappointing to some people; it's an actual job, with responsibility! :wow:


Obama puts bark in consumer watchdog: Elizabeth Warren

By Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers

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A specialist in contract law who rose to national prominence from humble Oklahoma roots, Warren is loved by consumer advocates for her charge-ahead style — and loathed by many business groups for the same reason.

Because she's a lightning rod, she faced a tough Senate confirmation fight if Obama nominated her to head the new bureau for a five-year term as its formal director. The Senate battle could've lasted months.

To avoid that, Obama chose to make her an assistant to the president and special adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, a staff position that doesn't require Senate confirmation. The White House will announce her appointment on Friday, an administration official told McClatchy on condition of anonymity because the announcement's not yet public.

Even without being named the bureau's director, Warren's expected to wield broad power — hiring the staff and setting the mission. Once she's got the bureau up and running, Obama can appoint a formal director, to whom Warren could pass the baton of leadership, the administration official said.

Consumer advocates were thrilled.

"We at the National Consumer Law Center have worked with Elizabeth Warren for years and are excited that she will be instrumental in setting the course for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Elizabeth has a deep understanding of the needs of consumers and the ways in which the financial system has let them down," the advocacy group said in a statement.

In a similar statement, the group Americans for Financial Reform said, "As financial reform moves through the treacherous path of regulation writing, Wall Street is busy trying to thwart regulators from doing the job Congress laid out — keeping the big banks in check. With Elizabeth Warren leading the way, and the public keeping up its vigilance, they will not succeed."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was appalled.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/09/16/100701/obama-puts-bark-in-consumer-watchdog.html