Brown deflects question on Warren

Centrist GOP Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.) deflected a question Tuesday about whether he would support the appointment of Elizabeth Warren to head the new consumer protection agency established by the Wall Street reform bill.

“I’m not comfortable commenting on prospective nominees because she hasn’t been appointed yet,” Brown told The Hill. “Once she is, I might have more to say.”

Meanwhile, Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who ushered the Wall Street bill through his committee and the floor debate, said President Obama should resist the urge to appoint Warren during an upcoming congressional recess.

“I don’t believe in recess appointments, I don’t think they’re right,” Dodd said.

Obama recently used a recess appointment to name Donald Berwick as head of the Medicare and Medicaid agency, prompting criticism from Republicans. 

Asked if Warren had the necessary votes for Senate confirmation, Dodd said, “I don’t know.”

Dodd cast doubt on a Warren vote in an interview with NPR on Monday, saying there was “a serious question” about whether she had enough support even though he personally believed she would be “terrific.”

Liberal groups have promoted Warren to head the new agency, after she chaired the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) oversight board. But conservatives are skeptical, and at least one Republican would be needed to cross the aisle to support her nomination if all 59 Democrats voted for her.