After months of delay the Senate voted Tuesday evening to confirm Richard Cordray as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Cordray had been serving as director under a recess appointment made by President Obama in January 2012, an appointment that has been subject to several court challenges.

The 66 to 34 vote on Cordray came as part of an agreement between Republican and Democratic senators that averted the so-called "nuclear option" threatened by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Reid claimed to have enough Democratic votes to end to end the ability of the Republican minority to filibuster the confirmation of presidential non-judicial nominees and also clears the way for confirmation of a new Secretary of Labor, three members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a new chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the head of the Export-Import Bank. It will not affect the upcoming confirmation of a Secretary of Homeland Security or a number of pending judicial appointments.

Cordray was originally nominated to head the new consumer bureau after it was created under the Dodd-Frank Act. Senate Republicans refused to allow a vote on his appointment saying they had no problem with Cordray or his qualifications but because they disagreed with the structure of the agency. The president invoked the recess appointment after Republicans said they would block anyone he nominated.

Cordray's recess appointment was time limited was also recently threatened by a court ruling invalidating appointments of three NLRB recess appointments made the same day. President Obama resubmitted the names of the four parties for confirmation at the beginning of his second term but Republicans again refused to allow a vote unless the structure of the CFPB was changed from a single director to a board of directors and its budget put under the Congressional appropriations process rather than funded independently through the Federal Reserve as the Dodd-Frank Bill required.

The New York times said after the agreement was reached many Republicans admitted their efforts to hobble executive agencies by denying appointees a vote was "wrongheaded." It quoted Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as saying, "Cordray was being filibustered because we don't like the law" that created the consumer agency. That's not a reason to deny someone their appointment. We were wrong."

After the vote Cordray said, "I am honored to be confirmed by the Senate as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. For nearly two years, we have been focused on making consumer finance markets work better for the American people. Today's action brings added certainty to the industries we oversee and reinforces our responsibility to stand on the side of consumers and see that they are treated fairly in the financial marketplace. We will continue our essential work and each one of us, including myself, is grateful for the opportunity to serve our country in this important way."

The Center for Responsible Lending released the following statement after the vote. "Today marks an historic moment. After two years of a roller coaster ride following hard-won reform, Director Richard Cordray has been confirmed. The nation now has a fully empowered Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and can fully focus on the job Congress asked it to do three years ago. As businesses compete under the same set of rules, working families will receive fair financial services.

"We celebrate this great achievement and look forward to working with the Director to bring overdue relief to families who have dealt with abusive financial practices for far too long."