Who is Consumer Agency Contender Elizabeth Warren?

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A Harvard Law professor could reportedly be President Obama's pick to be the first leader of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Elizabeth Warren , the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel that monitors the $700 billion financial bailout, was named by the White House as a main candidate to lead the new consumer agency.

But the White House, anticipating congressional resistance, has the option of appointing Warren on an interim basis, thus avoiding a lengthy confirmation battle in the Senate, The Huffington Post reported.

The new agency, created as part of the financial reform bill President Obama is expected to sign into law on Wednesday, is designed to protect borrowers from predatory lenders.

Warren, who for the past year has been advocating to create the agency, has written eight books and more than a hundred scholarly articles dealing with credit and economic stress.

But Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said Monday there's a "serious question" over whether she could be confirmed by the Senate. She has been criticized being "an overzealous consumer regulator" who could limit credit options for responsible borrowers.

But the administration could bypass the Senate entirely – according to the bill's language, the Treasury Secretary has the authority to appoint Warren as an interim head would serve until the president's nominee is confirmed by the Senate.

The National Law Journal has repeatedly named Warren, 51, as one of the Fifty Most Influential Women Attorneys in America, and SmartMoney Magazine recently designated her one of the SmartMoney 30 for 2008.

In April CNN reported that Warren was among the candidates being considered as Supreme Court nominees to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, before the White House eventually tabbed Elena Kagan for the seat.

There have also been calls for Warren to challenge Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown in the 2012 election.