Consumer Groups Back Warren for CFPB

[Donnachaidh]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859304576307233403597022.html?mod=wsj_share_twitter

WASHINGTON—Public-interest groups are pushing for President Barack Obama to appoint White House adviser Elizabeth Warren director of the new consumer-financial-protection agency, even as Republicans threaten to block any nominee.

Some groups that pushed for the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had refrained from publicly endorsing a nominee but are now urging the president to nominate Ms. Warren and then appoint her to the post to ensure the bureau has a director by its July 21 launch.

"We urge the president to stand up to this bullying, to swiftly nominate Professor Warren to lead the Consumer Bureau, and to make a recess appointment if the Senate refuses to act," said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, in a statement Friday.

The statement marks the first time the coalition has called on the president to put Ms. Warren in charge through a so-called recess appointment, a controversial maneuver that is likely to frustrate Senate Republicans because it would mean Ms. Warren would lead the agency without the Senate's endorsement.

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