On a party line vote, the Senate Banking Committee today votedto confirm former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to be thefirst director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

All 12 committee Democrats supported Cordray while all 10 of thepanel's Republicans voted against him.

There was no discussion of the nomination at today's session.However, before the vote, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) criticizedRepublicans for their unanimous opposition to Cordray because theydisagree with the idea of the bureau. He also cited the words ofsupport that Wright-Patt CU President/CEO Doug Fecher gave toCordray when Fecher testified before Brown's subcommittee onTuesday. Fecher told the panel that Cordray has “outstandingqualifications and understands the unique role of credit unions andtheir role in the lives of consumers.”

It's not clear whether Cordray will receive a vote by the fullSenate. All Senate Republicans have vowed to oppose any nominee torun the CFPB until the Obama administration and Senate Democratsagree to change the structure of the bureau, including having itrun by a five-person board rather than a single director. The Housepassed legislation that would accomplish that but Senate Democratsand the Obama administration oppose the measure and the Senate hastaken no action on the bill.

Although the Democrats control the Senate, the rules of thatchamber allow the minority party to force any nominee to receive 60votes, which would require some Republicans to support Cordray. TheSenate has 51 Democrats, two independents who caucus with theDemocrats and 47 Republicans. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner,who was testifying before the committee on another matter, added tohis prepared remarks and urged Republicans to support Cordray. Hecalled the nominee “talented and thoughtful,'' and noted thatwithout a director, the CFPB wouldn't be empowered to regulatenon-bank entities such as payday lenders.