President Obama spoke about the U.S. economy at at Shaker Heights High School. In his opening remarks he announced the recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which was created as part of the 2010 financial regulations law. He tied the appointment and the CFPB itself to his administration’s efforts to foster “an economy where everyone plays by the same rules.”
The appointment of Mr. Cordray was controversial in that the Senate has been holding pro forma sessions every three days while both the House and Senate are on longer recesses in order to block recess appointments. President Obama has argued that the sessions are a ploy to thwart his executive authority. Senate Republicans had previously filibustered votes to confirm Mr. Cordray.