Senator Elizabeth Warren May Not Be Appointed to the Banking Committee [View all]

[Oilwellian]

Last edited Sun Nov 11, 2012, 01:34 PM - Edit history (1)

Imagine that, Democrats working against her. If she doesn't make the Committee, we will all know who is in control of the Senate.

It’s hard to fathom but there’s at least a fair chance that Elizabeth Warren may not get a seat on the Senate Banking Committee.

Warren’s resume makes her a perfect fit for the committee. Her tenure as chair of the Congressional TARP oversight panel gave her a clear view of the intersection of the financial sector and government. In that post she distinguished herself as an independent thinker and critic of both the Obama administration and of banking practices.

Yet we have Senator Jack Reed, a senior Democrat who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, telling Reuters that he won’t make a prediction about whether Warren will get on the committee. Other Senators won’t comment. Harry Reid is staying silent on the matter.

(snip)
Behind the scenes there are people working to keep her off the committee. A former Senate aide tells me that the banking committee staff does not like Warren and have begun to quietly campaign against her. Lobbyists are telling senior Democrats that Warren might be “more effective” on the Judiciary Committee, which does bankruptcy oversight.

The staff of the Banking Committee is extremely tight with lobbyists for the banks, many of whom are former members of that staff. The staffers and lobbyists socialize together, drink together, and sometimes even marry. They are elitists who think of themselves as a cut above other Capitol Hill aides. And they pretty much all want jobs at banks someday.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49762821/Elizabeth_Warren_May_Not_Make_the_Banking_Committee