Senate Republicans declared war on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Thursday afternoon when they vowed to block the nomination of any permanent director unless Congress agrees to sweeping changes to the agency's structure.
In a new letter addressed to President Obama, 44 Republican senators said they will block the confirmation of anyone to run the new CFPB -- regardless of party -- until the bureau is restructured.
The CFPB is slated to begin operating as an independent agency July 21 under the leadership of a single director.
Led by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the first demand of the Republicans is to replace the single director with a board to oversee the new bureau.
Republicans also want the CFPB's funding subject to the congressional appropriations process. CFPB is currently funded independently by the Federal Reserve Board, as provided in the Dodd-Frank Act, but its director can request additional funding from Congress.
“This is about accountability," Sen. Shelby said on Thursday. "Everyone supports consumer protection, but we should never entrust a single person with this much power and public money."
As the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Shelby earlier in the year blocked the confirmation of President Obama's first CFBP nominee. He also has signaled his intention to block Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren if she is nominated to be the CFPB director.
Warren is currently leading the Treasury Department's team to get the new consumer protection agency up and running.
Observers expect the President will appoint Warren or possibly Federal Reserve governor Sarah Bloom Raskin to be the first CFPB director during Congress' August recess.
On Wednesday, a House Financial Services subcommittee approved a bill that would set up a five-member commission to steer the CFPB, instead of a single director.
