Consumer Advocate Elizabeth Warren Meets With Obama

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Economy ,; Obama Administration

Elizabeth Warren, whom the left is aggressively pushing to be named to head the new consumer protection agency, met with President Obama on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. The meeting is fueling speculation that the Harvard law professor will be tapped for to lead the agency.

Warren's potential nomination has ruffled some feathers: A favorite of many on the left (how many professors get their own rap videos?), she is seen by unions and consumer groups as one of the few people who has consistently fought for consumer financial protection.

The big banks and Wall Street, however, have been battling Warren for years, and they do not want to see the forceful and sometimes-undiplomatic advocate take over the agency. Known as the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, it was created as part of the regulatory reform bill passed earlier this year. (Warren herself was one of the primary figures behind its creation.)

The White House has said only that Warren is among the candidates being considered, and Mr. Obama notably declined to strongly back her in a July interview, though he did call her "a wonderful voice making a very simple point, which is, if you've got a set of rules and standards in place to make sure your toaster doesn't blow up in your face, you should have some rules and regulations to make sure your credit card or mortgage doesn't blow up in your face."

Elizabeth Warren on CBS' "The Early Show," October 22, 2009.

(Credit: CBS)

There are two headaches for the White House in selecting Warren. One is further angering a business community that has become increasingly disenchanted with the president, thanks to both his policies and his rhetoric. (Mr. Obama memorably once went after "fat cat bankers on Wall Street.") The other is the possibility of a distracting confirmation fight in the Senate, which seems likely in light of the apparent strong opposition to the pick among many Senate Republicans.

Not picking Warren, however, would demoralize a Democratic base that is itself less-than-enthusiastic about the president and his party ahead of the midterm elections. That could translate into further diminished Democratic voter enthusiasm, the last thing Congressional Democrats want as they try to hold the House and Senate.

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency's powers will include regulating credit cards and other financial products, including mortgages. Other candidates for the top job, according to the AP, include assistant treasury secretary Michael Barr and Eugene Kimmelman, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's antitrust division.

Brian Montopoli is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of his posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by wellsfargoloanfraudvictim September 10, 2010 4:48 PM EDT: Mr. President, why don't you address mortgage fraud which caused billions of dollors loss for the Americans? Why not hold Wells Fargo accountable for making mortgage loan based on hugely inflated appraisal?

How many jobs have to be created and how hard taxpayers have to work in order to fill up the deep hole mortgage fraud has created for the society? Bottom line, where is justice when the largest mortgage lender Wells Fargo is foreclosing home based on fraudulent loan and hugely inflated appraisal. Isn't it prosecutable crime that majority of State Attorney General's offices are prosecuting?

Where is HOPE for homeowners? Is it too much to expect that Wells Fargo, the largest mortgage lender in US not to defraud homeowners like us by making fraudulent loan and foreclosing home based on hugely inflated appraisal?

www.wellsfargomortgagefraud.com; Reply to this comment


by documemts September 9, 2010 6:43 PM EDT: It was going down hill before he was President.; Reply to this comment


by wfw3536 September 9, 2010 6:23 PM EDT: Another professor joining the Obama team. This is one of the reasons our economy is going in the tank under his leadership.; Reply to this comment