A deal between Senate Democrats and Republicans has resulted inan after-hours confirmation of Richard Cordray as Director of theConsumer Financial Protection Bureau.

With a final confirmation vote count of 66-34 Tuesday night,Cordray can now put aside the controversy surrounding hisappointment and settle in to a five-year term.

Earlier in the day, the Senate had moved the appointmentforward by invoking cloture, limiting debate on the coming vote andavoiding the so-called “nuclear option” of changing filibusterrules.

President Barack Obama first nominated Cordray in July 2011 butSenate Republicans blocked his confirmation. In response, Obamainstalled Cordray with a recess appointment during the Senate's 2011 winter break thatwould have expired at the end of this year.

Republicans in both the Senate and the House balked at the move,and the recess appointment was also threatened by a lawsuit that is expected to reach the Supreme Court over otherappointments made during the same period to the National LaborRelations Board.

In exchange for Cordray's confirmation and the additionalconfirmation of some pending appointees, Senate Democrats agreed toleave filibuster rules in place. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid(D-Nev.) had threatened to alter the rules, which allow forunlimited debate in the upper chamber unless 60 Senators vote tocut it off.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who headed the effort todevelop the CFPB, said in a statement after it became clearCordray's confirmation was imminent, that the bureau is the law ofthe land and here to stay.

“We fought hard for the agency, and we proved that big change isstill possible in Washington,” she said. “Now we have the watchdogthat the American people deserve –

a watchdog looking out for middle class families, gettingrid of tricks, traps and fine print, and holding financialinstitutions accountable when they break the law.”

CUNA and NAFCU promptly congratulated Cordray on his appointmentand lauded him for his accessibility and willingness to listen tocredit union industry concerns.

“In fact, on a number of occasions, (Corday) has been willing tomake positive rule changes even after a regulation has been adopted– a very rare occurrence for a regulator,” CUNA President/CEO BillCheney said in a release.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling(R-Texas), who had banned Cordray from testifying before the committee over therecess appointment issue, said in a statement that the committeewill call on him to present the CFPB's semi-annual report as soonas practicable.

“His confirmation, however, does not change the fact that theCFPB lacks the most basic semblance of accountability andtransparency that hardworking taxpayers deserve from governmentagencies,” Hensarling said.

“No one unelected, unaccountable bureaucrat in Washington shouldhave so much control over the financial destiny of Americans,particularly one who is completely insulated from the types ofchecks and balances that apply to other government agencies. Ourcommittee will continue its vigorous oversight of the CFPB and doeverything we can to make the CFPB as accountable as possible.”

Hensarling had advocated for Cordray to be replaced with a bipartisancommission to oversee the bureau, and has also called for theCFPB's budget to be approved by Congress.