In my Church we heard these words this weekend: "No one can serve two masters. They will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other." These words provided inspiration. They also made me think.
Elizabeth Warren will now serve two masters, so to speak. She will report to President Barack Obama and to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in her position as an adviser to the President.
She will not be appointed to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Not at this time. See, e.g., Jackie Calmes and Sewell Chan, "Obama Chooses Warren to Set Up Consumer Bureau" p. B5, col. 1 (New York Times Nat'l ed., "Business Day" Section, Saturday, September 18, 2010); Ron Lieber, "Your Money/7 Tasks to Get the Consumer Chief Off to a Good Start" p. B1, col. 1 (New York Times Nat'l ed., "Business Day" Section, Saturday, September 18, 2010). Submitted for your consideration: That appointment will not happen at any time.
It seems that Ms. Warren was told that she would not be confirmed by the Senate because the votes are not there. See Jackie Calmes and Sewell Chan, "Obama Chooses Warren to Set Up Consumer Bureau," supra. (I am not saying that is true, i.e., that the votes are not actually there, just that that is what Ms. Warren was apparently told by the faceless "Obama Administration. See id.)
Assume that she was told that she should be a good soldier. She should sacrifice herself for the cause, for something bigger than herself, i.e., for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Assume that she was told that she should subordinate her best instincts, compromise her desires, and be an adviser instead of the head, one who does not need to be confirmed and thus will not put the Obama Administration through a confirmation battle.
Assume that, in exchange, she was also told that she could have "a voice," or input, into how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is established in the first place. Hers will be the guiding hands, as it were. Perhaps she was told these things. We know for certain, however, that she was told that she will be reporting to President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner, who has his own pick in mind to head the CFPB. Jackie Calmes and Sewell Chan, "Obama Chooses Warren to Set Up Consumer Bureau," supra.
Here is how to verify whether this sketch is accurate. I predict that Professor Warren, head of the Congressional Oversight Panel, will be gone from her adviser post within 1 to 2 years. During that time, she will find herself constantly undermined. She will depart, in the end, as a good soldier, keeping quiet at that time about the treatment she received in the 1 to 2 years that preceded her departure.
Thereafter, maybe, we will know what really happened. In the meantime, Ms. Warren's decisions have real implications for Fiduciary Duties. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau -- probably in 2 years or longer -- will address Fiduciary Relationships in ways which will affect the outcomes of Claims including Claims of alleged Fiduciary Breaches by Insurance Companies. Elizabeth Warren will not be around to affect the outcome then, if the predictions in this post become true.
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