Bair: CFPB's Cordray 'Deserves to Be Confirmed'

Sheila Bair said Tuesday that the Senate should confirm Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman urged the Senate to confirm Cordray, who was recess appointed by President Obama last year. Senate Republicans have refused to confirm Cordray until the agency's single director is replaced with a five-member board, among other proposed structural changes.

Bair's endorsement of Cordray comes after the Supreme Court announced Monday that it would hear a case that may invalidate Cordray's appointment. 

"The constitution gives the president the right to pick these people and the role of Congress is to advise and consent," Bair said Tuesday during an appearance at New York's Bryant Park. "Maybe you don't like the Consumer Bureau, but it is the law of the land.  Dodd-Frank won. The majority won. It's the law, and you have to follow the law."

"I think Richard Cordray's doing a great job. I wish the Senate would confirm him," she added. "He's not anti-bank, he's not trying to kill all the banks, and he deserves to be confirmed."

The CFPB proposed several tweaks on Monday to its recently released mortgage regulations, after Cordray defended the new rules last Wednesday.

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