TPM: Obama Pushes for Consumer Protection Agency, Tells Dodd It's 'Non-Negotiable'

Obama Pushes For Consumer Protection Agency, Tells Dodd It's 'Non-Negotiable'

Rachel Slajda
January 20, 2010, 11:40AM

President Obama met with retiring Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) yesterday and, according to the New York Times, pushed Dodd on the creation of a consumer protection agency.

Dodd, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, has reportedly been discussing dropping the agency in order to get Republican support on other financial regulatory reforms. Dodd recently announced that he will retire after this term.

But aides told the Times that for Obama, the agency is "non-negotiable."

This fits in with a more aggressive strategy that many Democrats want to see from the White House. Senior adviser David Axelrod suggested this morning that the administration plans to move in that direction.

"We need to move forward aggressively, continuing on job creation, and on financial regulatory reform," he said. He also urged Congress to pass a health care bill despite last night's election results in Massachusetts.

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