Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is urging Senate Republicans to confirm Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
During a national telephone town hall, Warren -- an early proponent of the agency -- said opposition to the former Ohio attorney general is "about keeping the game rigged, so the system continues to work for big financial institutions and corporations but not consumers."
"Rich Cordray deserves an up or down vote," Warren said, according to USA Today.
HuffPost's Ryan Grim and Jennifer Bendary reported earlier on the controversy over Cordray:
Cordray is a contentious nominee because 43 Republicans have demanded changes to the structure of the CFPB before they will approve any nominee to run it. That means Republicans can deny Democrats the 60 votes needed to begin debate on a CFPB nominee. President Barack Obama gave Cordray a recess appointment in January 2012, which Republicans have challenged as illegal, citing a recent court case that invalidated other recess appointments.
Warren previously blasted Republicans for vowing to block any CFPB nominee until Congress passes a law to revamp the agency.
"I see nothing here but a filibuster threat against Director Cordray as an attempt to weaken the consumer agency," Warren said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing in March. "I think the delay in getting him confirmed is bad for consumers, it's bad for small banks, bad for credit unions, for anyone trying to offer an honest product in an honest market."
"The American people deserve a Congress that worries less about helping big banks, and more about helping regular people who have been cheated on mortgages, on credit cards, on student loans and on credit reports," Warren said.
Warren was Obama's first choice to lead the CFPB, but fierce opposition from Republicans and banks led to Cordray nabbing the nomination instead.
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