Sources told Huffington Post today that Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, has been tapped to serve on the Banking Committee. This is happy news and a coup for Democrats since Warren, a consumer advocate and economics expert, was blocked by Republicans from serving as head of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during Obama's first term.
From Wall Street Journal
Ms. Warren, who beat Republican Sen. Scott Brown for the Senate seat in November, emerged as a high-profile Wall Street critic after the financial crisis and hit on many of the same populist themes during her campaign. "Wall Street CEOs, the same ones who wrecked our economy...still strut around Congress...demanding favors," she said in her speech at the Democratic National Convention in September.
She embraced several policy positions that bankers dislike, including calling for a return to Glass-Steagall, the Depression-era law that separated commercial and investment banks.
. . . Several financial industry officials admit they're concerned about Ms. Warren being on the panel, given her policy positions and industry criticisms, but they said they don't know of any banks or lobbyists working against her selection.
With Ms. Warren on the banking panel, it may be harder for Republican critics of that agency and the banking industry to win any changes, such as replacing its director with a bipartisan commission structure.
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