U.S. House members made their move in hopes of restructuring how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau operates. Now a lawmaker from the nation’s upper chamber has revealed a measure to curb the financial resources available to the regulator.

Sen. David Perdue recently introduced an amendment to the Senate’s 2015 Budget Resolution regarding the CFPB. Perdue insisted his budget amendment would ensure the bureau is subject to the Congressional appropriations process. Currently, the CFPB operates under the Federal Reserve.

The Dodd-Frank Act established the CFPB’s budget at as much as 12 percent of the Fed’s annual operating expense. That is roughly $600 million without any Congressional oversight over the agency’s functions.

“The reckless Consumer Finance Protection Bureau was spawned from the disastrous Dodd-Frank financial regulation law,” Perdue said. “Right now, the CFPB is a rogue agency that dishes out malicious financial policy and creates new rules and regulations without any oversight from Congress.

“On top of that, the agency itself has failed to operate within its own budget and proven it is more concerned with preserving its own power than protecting the public,” the Georgia Republican continued. “Ultimately, I believe the CFPB should be dismantled, but an important first step is bringing it into the light for the American people to see its harmful effects on consumers.” 

Top CFPB Officials Leave for Private Practice

Meanwhile in other news associated with the bureau, Michael Gordon, senior counselor to CFPB director Richard Cordray, is rejoining WilmerHale in April as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office.Gordon joins the financial institutions and strategic response practices, further expanding the firm’s consumer finance regulatory and enforcement capabilities and congressional investigations experience.

“Michael has a broad range of consumer-related enforcement and regulatory knowledge, as well as seasoned congressional investigations and government litigation experience which will greatly enhance our already robust Financial Institutions and Strategic Response Practices,” said Robert Novick, co-managing partner of WilmerHale.

“Client requests surrounding the consumer finance market are growing rapidly due to the uptick in CFPB enforcement and regulatory actions,” Novick continued. “Michael’s deep understanding of the CFPB’s policies, culture and priorities will build out the group’s capabilities as we meet the growing demands from clients for our assistance. We’re delighted to have him back at the firm.” 

WilmerHale’s financial institutions practice assists high-profile clients in challenging and complex federal regulatory and legislative, litigation, enforcement, and business transaction matters. Gordon joins the group’s roster of attorneys who have previously held senior level positions in federal agencies, Congress and the executive branch.

“I am so pleased to be rejoining the firm, and I look forward to working alongside so many talented and experienced attorneys,” Gordon said. “The firm is a perfect fit for me, and I know it will provide exceptional opportunities for growth.”

As senior counselor to the CFPB director, Gordon provided strategic advice to the director and senior CFPB officials on policy questions as well as significant enforcement actions, including the negotiation and resolution of complex matters. Prior to that role, Gordon served as the deputy general counsel at the CFPB from 2011-2012 and before that he served on the CFPB implementation team at the time the bureau was established in 2010.

Before joining the CFPB, Gordon served as counselor to the general counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Additionally, Gordon has significant Congressional oversight and investigations experience.  He served as chief investigative counsel for House Chairman Henry Waxman on the House Energy and Commerce Committees and senior investigative counsel on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Gordon began his legal career in 1998 as an associate and counsel at Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, working on government enforcement matters and litigation until he departed for public service in 2006.

And Gordon isn't the only CFPB enforcer to depart the agency.

The Washington, D.C., office of K&L Gates welcomed former CFPB deputy enforcement director for litigation Ori Lev as a partner in the firm’s consumer financial services practice.

Lev arrives at K&L Gates following nearly 20 years of public service at a variety of United States government agencies. Prior to the CFPB, he served as the chief of enforcement for the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and as a litigator for the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. His extensive practice includes litigation, government enforcement, and regulatory compliance affecting banks and other consumer financial services companies.

Having joined the CFPB at the agency’s inception in 2010, Lev helped to establish its enforcement office, assisting in the development of its priorities, policies, and procedures. He supervised a team of more than 20 lawyers responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases involving mortgages, auto lending, for-profit colleges, and student loan servicing, among other consumer financial services and products.

Additionally, Lev coordinated legal and enforcement actions with numerous federal and state law enforcement and regulatory partners including the DOJ, FTC, and state attorneys general.

“Ori’s in-depth knowledge of several U.S. government agencies will be invaluable to our clients as they navigate the ever-changing regulatory and enforcement landscape of the consumer financial industry,” said Steven Kaplan, a Washington, D.C., partner and one of the leaders of K&L Gates’ financial services practice area. “We look forward to him joining our experienced team of lawyers.”

Lev, who will start in June, is the third new partner addition in the Washington, D.C., office this year, following the earlier arrival of partners Grace Fremlin and Joon Yoon. He joins robust consumer financial services and government enforcement practices that have earned various honors including recent first-tier ranking in the banking and finance law, financial services regulation law, and securities regulation categories of the 2015 U.S. News Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” survey.