WASHINGTON — The head Republican on the Senate Banking Committee Thursday indicated GOP support for the timely confirmations of three members to sit on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s board of directors.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., called for a quick vote on Martin Gruenberg as FDIC chairman, Thomas Hoenig as FDIC vice chairman and Thomas Curry as comptroller of the currency.
"I'd like to move them all together," Shelby told reporters following the nomination hearing for Hoenig. "The sooner we can get these nominees up, vote on them, I hope to do it before we leave here in the fall."
The board seats have been somewhat in limbo for some time. Gruenberg has held the position of acting chairman, while John Walsh has served as acting comptroller. Curry now sits on the board as an independent director, but if confirmed as comptroller would switch seats.
Looming large over the three picks is the fate of Richard Cordray, the administration's nominee to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which holds the fifth seat on the FDIC's board. Many GOP senators have opposed confirmation for anyone to run the bureau absent changes to its structure, and discord over the CFPB's future has added more uncertainty to the FDIC board's makeup.
But Shelby signaled support for moving forward with Gruenberg, Hoenig and Curry as a package, and leaving the CFPB's director as a separate issue. Speaking of the three less controversial nominees, Shelby said, "I support them all — if we can get our package through."
