Kos reported that the White House is considering a temporary appointment of Elizabeth Warren to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau agency. Here's why all Democrats, progressives and centrists alike, should cheer the temporary appointment of Elizabeth Warren---because such an interim appointment would NOT be temporary in nature. Why is that?
Well, it's because of how Democrats wrote the financial regulation law regarding the interim appointment:
Warren could serve until Obama nominates a permanent director -- a nomination he's not required to make, meaning that Warren could serve indefinitely with the full powers of the director. Obama could follow the interim nomination by later naming Warren as the permanent director, giving the Senate an opportunity to debate her selection. The ability of the administration to nominate an acting director indefinitely, avoiding a lengthy confirmation battle, was first reported by HuffPost's Shahien Nasiripour in July. American Banker is also reporting that Warren is under consideration for the interim position.
Here's more from Simon Johnson on how putting Elizabeth Warren to work as the CFPB chief would be the Republicans' worst nightmare:
And the brilliant part of this idea -- as explained by Shahien Nasiripour at the Huffington Post (see also David Dayen's Thursday coverage) -- is that the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation allows the person charged with setting up this new agency to be an outright appointment, rather than a nomination subject to Senate confirmation.
Warren's credentials are impeccable -- she came up with the original idea for the CFPB, she pushed effectively for it to become legislation and she has proved most effective in her oversight role as chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. And her manifesto for the CFPB is sensible and actually pro-business -- although she naturally opposes the specific ways in which big banks mistreat people.
No doubt Republicans in the Senate would try to derail her nomination to head the CFPB as they have done with numerous other nominations over the past year and a half. Their motivation would not be her views or expertise -- she has earned serious Republican respect as a result of her COP role -- but just part of their electoral strategy to block the president's agenda and to undermine an agency they have consistently opposed.
The Treasury Secretary is explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress to pick an interim head for the new agency -- with a view to getting it up and running immediately (in fact, what has he been waiting for?). Presumably the Senate (and the House) passed this specific measure expressly to expedite the CFPB's work.
And the best part of this? It'd be an immediate, deliverable change that would energize the Democratic base, and send a sign to voters that there's a consumer advocate willing to fight for them against special interests. This could also be painted as a fight won against Wall Street, which would be very good for the White House.
Signs are that the White House and Congress are looking to energize voters with this rumored interim appointment of Elizabeth Warren, the DADT repeal, and progressive framing around the Obama tax cuts for the middle class. This shows that they're at least hearing progressives on what needs to energize them for the midterms. That in itself, is a good sign.
UPDATE: It seems that the White House is denying this use of interim appointment, which is quite disappointing:
White House officials denied reports Monday that the Obama administration is considering naming Elizabeth Warren the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to avoid a tough nomination fight on the Senate floor.
And Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), a key negotiator on the reform bill that created the position, told reporters Monday that he "absolutely" believed that any person President Barack Obama names to the position - Warren or not - should go through the full Senate confirmation process.
Gee thanks, Senator Dodd.