President Barack Obama will formally announce Friday afternoon that he is naming Elizabeth Warren as a special adviser for leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Obama will make the announcement at 1:30 p.m. in the Rose Garden, a White House official confirmed Thursday.

Warren would report to the president and the Treasury secretary on setting up the agency, which was created under this year’s financial regulatory overhaul to police financial products for individuals.

Warren currently heads the oversight panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and she has been a leading candidate to become the consumer agency’s official director.

However, some Democrats said they believe she is too liberal to be confirmed, and the advisory position averts a contentious Senate confirmation process.

The president is expected to name a chief later, and Warren may still be under consideration.