Richard Cordray was renominated today by President Obama to serve as CFPB Director for a five-year term.  The President’s recess appointment of Mr. Cordray only allows him to serve as CFPB Director until the end of this year.

Instead of waiting until later this year to renominate Mr. Cordray, the President may have decided to act now because of concerns about the outcome of  the case pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit which deals with the legality of President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, Noel Canning v. NLRB, No. 12-1115.  Oral argument was held on December 5, 2012.  As I recently observed, if the D.C. Circuit were to hold that the President’s NLRB appointments are invalid, then the President’s appointment of Mr. Cordray would also be invalid.

Mr. Cordray’s renomination is likely to face considerable Republican opposition, making it unlikely to receive the 60 votes needed for confirmation.