The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has scheduled a confirmation hearing at 2 pm on August 4 to consider President Obama’s appointment of Richard Cordray as the Director of the CFPB. Since 44 Republican Senators have already vowed to oppose the nomination, one wonders why the Committee would even go through this exercise in apparent futility, particularly when Congress still has not resolved the debt ceiling crisis.

Although the Committee might vote to confirm Cordray (and even that’s very doubtful since one or more Senators could put a hold on the nomination), absent some deal being struck by the Democratic and Republican Senators, Cordray’s nomination will be DOA if it ever reaches the floor of the Senate.