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Although lawmakers were ostensibly there to discuss the nominations to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the debate over "too big to jail" continued to dominate a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday.
March 12
WASHINGTON — Mary Jo White received near-unanimous backing from the Senate Banking Committee to serve as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, while support for Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, split as expected down party lines at a confirmation vote Tuesday morning.
Both nominations will now be sent to the Senate floor, where White is expected to be confirmed. Republicans have charged that they will not confirm Cordray or any director of the consumer agency until it agrees to certain structural changes. The banking panel voted 21-1 in favor of White and 12-10 in favor of Cordray.
Sen. Sherrod Brown was the only committee member to vote against White.
"I don't question Mary Jo White's integrity or skill as an attorney. But I do question Washington's long-held bias towards Wall Street and its inability to find watchdogs outside of the very industry that they are meant to police," the Ohio Democrat said in a statement. "Mary Jo White will have plenty of opportunities to prove me wrong. I hope she will."
