The head of the consumer financial protection agency will have authority over a far-reaching and uniquely powerful new government agency -- able to make and
“„Democratic leaders in Congress say their top pick for the post is ** Elizabeth Warren**, the high-profile Harvard law professor and an outspoken critic of what she sees as a too-cozy relationship between government and bankers. Other potential candidates include Michael Barr, a Treasury assistant secretary and University of Michigan law professor with a longstanding interest in consumer finance; Democratic state attorneys general Martha Coakleyof Massachusetts, Lisa Madiganof Illinois and Lori Swansonof Minnesota; Susan Wachterof the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, who served in the Clinton Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Nicolas Retsinasof Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing studies, a former bank regulator and a low-income housing specialist.