Obama’s agency choice

There is intensifying pressure on President Obama to nominate Elizabeth
Warren as the first head of a consumer protection agency created in the
new financial reform law.

The pressure comes from liberal Democrats, some of whom are frustrated with Obama on a range of issues, most notably the war in Afghanistan.

Consumer advocacy groups and labor unions are pushing for Warren, but her most powerful advocate is Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

During a recent interview on MSNBC, Frank shrewdly applied pressure on the White House.

He first defended Obama: “I sympathize with President Obama. He’s been criticized by some of my liberal friends. We didn’t get a public option and we didn’t get the other things we wanted. That wasn’t his fault. The economic recovery bill, the stimulus — it wasn’t as big as it should have been. That wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t get the votes.”

But then he noted that Obama doesn’t need votes to appoint Warren: “ … with regard to appointing Elizabeth Warren, that’s his decision. No one can stop him from making it. And I hope he will appoint her.”

Of course, Warren would need enough votes to be confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term. And there is concern that appointing her would trigger fierce GOP opposition and revive the battle over the creation of the consumer agency, which was Warren’s idea.

In a move that irritated liberals, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) suggested this month that Warren wouldn’t have the votes to be confirmed.

Warren could be recess-appointed through the end of next year, though Dodd told The Hill he is not a fan of recess appointments. Frank believes that, if necessary, Obama should use his recess appointment power on Warren.

Warren, who was tapped to head the Congressional Oversight Panel to oversee the implementation of the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program, has been praised by administration officials in recent days.

There is, however, chatter that the White House doesn’t want to select Warren to such a controversial post.

Some say Obama should welcome a battle with Senate Republicans on this nomination, claiming it would highlight the GOP’s ties with banks that opposed the creation of the consumer bureau.

Most outside of the Washington Beltway have not heard of Warren, but if the White House doesn’t pick her, there will be uproar among liberal activists. That won’t bode well for an administration that is worried about polls showing that the conservative base is far more energized than the left.

Snubbing Warren would, into the bargain, probably trigger public rebuke from Frank, who has a long memory.