Obama, in his weekly White House address, spoke Saturday of his nominating former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to lead the forming agency "whose job it is to protect American families from being taken advantage of by mortgage lenders, payday lenders and debt collectors."
"Tens of millions of Americans use these services. Protecting them from unscrupulous practices is an important job. And that's why I nominated Richard Cordray," Obama explained.
Obama said Cordray has the support of "most attorney generals across the country" on both sides of the aisle and expressed dismay Republican members of Congress blocked his nomination.
"On Thursday, Republicans blocked his nomination," Obama said. "They refused to even allow it to come up for a vote."
Senate Republicans had vowed since May to block confirmation of any Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director unless they get structural changes to the agency, which was formed as part of the Wall Street reform law passed last year.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that President Obama ignored his party's call for more accountability and transparency in the bureau's structure.
Obama vowed to persist with his efforts to counter the "high-powered lawyers and lobbyists" that work in the interest of financial institutions.
He condemned the "irresponsible behavior" on Wall Street that "contributed to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."
House Speaker John Boehner, in the GOP weekly address, voiced disapproval of the president postponing a decision to support an energy measure included in a jobs bill Republican members of Congress will act on next week.
Today, America faces a make-or-break moment for the middle class," he said, echoing a theme outlined during a Kansas speech earlier in the week. "I believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone engages in fair play."
Obama also reiterated his push for congressional Republicans to extend the Social Security payroll tax cut, which is set to expire at the end of the year.
And using the approaching holidays as leverage, he called on Congress to act on his priorities before leaving Washington for the year.
"No one should go home for the holidays until we get this done," Obama said. "So tell your members of Congress, 'Don't be a Grinch.' Tell them to do the right thing for you and for our economy."
Meanwhile, Republicans pushed their recipe for the nation's economic struggles.
Set for a House vote next week, the GOP plan ties an extension of the payroll tax and extended unemployment benefits to a provision that jump-starts work on a pipeline to carry oil from Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Obama wants to postpone a decision on the project, known as the Keystone XL pipeline, until after next fall's elections.
"You've heard President Obama say the American people 'can't wait' to take action on jobs," House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio says in the Republicans' weekly address. "Well, the Keystone project is the very definition of an idea the American people can't wait for Washington to take action on."
Boehner continued: "This is no time for the same-old my-way-or-the-highway theatrics. It's no secret that Democrats and Republicans often disagree about the best way to create jobs, but we can't let those disagreements prevent us from acting when we agree."
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