White’s husband, John W. White, from 2006 to 2008 was head of the SEC’s division of corporation finance, which is responsible for disclosure policies, under Republican SEC chairman Christopher Cox. He’s now a partner at law firm Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP.
The re-nomination of Cordray to lead the consumer bureau will come a year after Obama placed him in the job with a recess appointment that bypassed Senate confirmation. The president took the step after Senate Republicans blocked the nomination while seeking changes to the agency’s funding and structure.
The agency, an independent watchdog for consumers that was created by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, has taken actions in such areas as homeowner protection, credit-card deception, debt collection and student lending.
Expiring Term
The appointment of Cordray, who was Ohio’s attorney general before joining the consumer agency, expires at the end of this year.
Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, told reporters at a briefing today that he “wouldn’t want to predict an outcome” on Cordray’s Senate confirmation hearing. There should be “no objection to him based on substance,” Carney said, adding that past Republican opposition was the result of “political considerations.”