Following the announcement of the nomination of Richard Cordray as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the U.S. Treasury has announced that Elizabeth Warren will leave her post as Special Advisor to the Treasury.

Raj Date will assume her role, effective August 1, and assume leadership of the CFPB pending confirmation of Cordray.  Date has served as the Associate Director of Research, Markets and Regulations for the CFPB.  As Special Advisor to the Treasury, he will assume day-to-day operations of the Bureau until a director is confirmed. 

Cordray will continue his role as Director of Enforcement for the CFPB until the confirmation process is complete.  Although it would have been more expedient to name Cordray as the Special Advisor to lead the bureau pending his confirmation as director, the move would have likely raised concerns that the administration was using the position as a way to circumvent the confirmation process.  It would have added fuel to what is expected to be a contentious confirmation process.  Republicans have vowed to block any nomination until bills to change the leadership structure and accountability of the bureau are considered.

Professor Warren intends to return to her position as the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.  The timing of her move is more likely related to the academic calendar for the coming year.

“Professor Warren has done an extraordinary job standing up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Her efforts to simplify mortgage and credit card disclosures, protect military families from abusive and deceptive financial practices, and bring aboard top talent like Richard Cordray and Raj Date have built a strong foundation for the Bureau’s future success,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “Raj has an impressive background in financial services, academia, government, and non-profit organizations, and I am pleased that he will serve in this new capacity as the CFPB continues moving forward with its important work.”