News Coverage

August 03, 2020

Politico: ‘Shame on you’: Warren slams Esper over handling of Trump’s Pentagon nominee

by Connor O'Brien and Lara Seligman

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren sharply criticized Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday after the administration installed an embattled nominee in a senior Pentagon post amid opposition on Capitol Hill, accusing the Pentagon chief of doing President Donald Trump’s “dirty work.”Retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata’s nomination to be undersecretary of defense for policy was upended on Thursday when the Senate Armed Services Committee canceled his confirmation hearing minutes before it was set … Continue Reading


July 31, 2020

Forbes: Democrats Introduce Bill To Get Police Out Of Schools

by Wesley Whistle

The deaths of Black people at the hands of police this year ignited an important conversation about police reform in this country. A number of proposals have been introduced to address various facets of policing at the federal, state, and local levels. This week, Democratic lawmakers in Congress added to that list with a bill to get police out of schools.Senators Chris Murphy (CT) and Elizabeth Warren (MA), along with Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA) and Ilhan Omar (MN), introduced the … Continue Reading


July 31, 2020

The Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Urge FTC Probe of Mobile Ad Industry’s Tracking of Consumers

by Byron Tau and Patience Haggin

A group of members of Congress is asking the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into the mobile advertising industry’s practice of covertly tracking consumers using digital display ads.The complaint sent to the FTC on Friday cites a little-known practice of using what is called “bidstream” data derived from the ads that appear on websites and in mobile applications to obtain sensitive information about consumers that can include their real-world locations and information about … Continue Reading


July 31, 2020

The New York Times: Democrats Decry Fed Push to Ease Capital Requirements for Big Banks

by Emily Flitter and Jeanna Smialek

Two Senate Democrats sharply criticized the Federal Reserve’s effort to get Congress to help it weaken capital requirements for big banks this week, following a report in The New York Times that Republicans were hoping to include such a provision in the next coronavirus relief package.In letters to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell and Vice Chair Randal K. Quarles, Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who sit on a committee that oversees banks and … Continue Reading


July 31, 2020

The Washington Post: Senate Democrats raise concerns about educational redlining in student lending

by Danielle Douglas-Gabriel

An emerging practice of using education data to determine creditworthiness is drawing scrutiny on Capitol Hill, where Senate Democrats are questioning whether private student lenders are engaging in educational redlining by raising the price of credit for historically marginalized groups.Lawmakers’ concerns center on lenders factoring in where borrowers attend college or what they study to assess the risk of extending credit and the appropriate interest to charge. Lenders say using a range of … Continue Reading


July 30, 2020

NBC News: Two senators demand answers from Wells Fargo following NBC News reports

by Gretchen Morgenson

Citing a recent investigation by NBC News, two U.S. senators have asked the chief executive of Wells Fargo to answer extensive questions about the bank’s practice of pausing mortgage payments for borrowers without their consent under a federal program designed to help homeowners financially hurt by COVID-19.The senators, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, both Democrats and members of the Senate Banking Committee, wrote a letter on July 29 requesting information and … Continue Reading


July 30, 2020

Vice: Warren Investigates Report That FedEx, Walmart Punish Workers for Taking Time Off

by Lauren Kaori Gurley

Senator Elizabeth Warren sent letters to the CEOs of FedEx, Walmart, Conagra, 3M, and Kroger on Tuesday demanding information about their respective attendance policies and whether companies are adequately informing workers of their legal rights to take time off work without punishment.The letters follow a June report by the legal advocacy group A Better Balance that investigated 66 U.S. companies (including those contacted by Senator Warren)  that use points-based attendance policies, also … Continue Reading


July 29, 2020

Morning Consult: Sens. Warren, Schatz Call on Fed to Suspend Bank Dividends and Increase Transparency

by Claire Williams

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) are urging Federal Reserve officials to suspend bank dividends and to provide more transparency on the way the Fed measures the ability of banks to weather a crisis, according to a letter provided exclusively to Morning Consult. Warren and Schatz, both on the Senate Banking Committee, said in a letter sent Tuesday night to Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Fed Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles that their concerns are “especially … Continue Reading


July 29, 2020

HuffPost: Millions Of Americans Are About To Be Homeless, And It’s Totally Preventable

by Alanna Vagianos

The federal moratorium on evictions expired last Friday, ending protections for nearly 12 million Americans. This Friday, 25 million people will stop receiving an extra $600 in weekly coronavirus relief in their unemployment benefits.And on Saturday, rent is due for millions of Americans who won’t be able to pay.If Congress doesn’t step in, these people could be evicted come September. And the worst part is that this looming crisis is completely avoidable. All lawmakers need to do is take … Continue Reading


July 29, 2020

The Hill: Warren calls for pledge of no deployment of federal agents on protesters if Trump refuses to leave office

by J. Edward Moreno

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has asked President Trump’s top Cabinet officials to pledge that they will not deploy federal agents to U.S. cities to quell protests, specifically in the event that Trump loses reelection and refuses to leave the office. “I therefore write to seek your assurances that you will not allow the military or civilian forces under your control to be used by the President to suppress dissent and democracy,” Warren wrote Tuesday in a letter to Defense … Continue Reading


July 29, 2020

The Hill: Warren hammers CFPB director over consumer complaints: 'You should resign'

by Rebecca Klar

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called for the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to resign over her handling of the response to the coronavirus pandemic.The progressive senator claimed the director's response is hurting consumers and giving companies a “get out of jail free card” against consumer protections under law. “Your leadership has been a miserable failure based on your actions in this pandemic. You should resign,” Warren told CFPB director Kathy Kraninger on … Continue Reading


July 28, 2020

Bloomberg Law: Democratic Senators Urge Pandemic Crackdown on Noncompete Pacts

by Jaclyn Diaz

Two Democratic senators want the Federal Trade Commission to take emergency action to limit employers’ enforcement of noncompete agreements during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, saying the public health emergency has “exacerbated” problems with such arrangements.Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also faulted the FTC for not advancing a rulemaking following a January workshop held to consider a possible rule restricting use of noncompete agreements, which hinder a … Continue Reading


July 28, 2020

The Washington Post: Democratic lawmakers probing whether CDC guidelines on reopening schools were influenced by political pressure

by Valerie Strauss

U.S. lawmakers are probing whether newly released guidelines on reopening schools issued last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were subject to political pressure from President Trump, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos or other administration officials.Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) have sent a letter to DeVos and CDC director Robert Redfield requesting all correspondence between their agencies and the White House that involves the guidance on … Continue Reading


July 28, 2020

CNN: Warren calls on agency chiefs to commit to not deploying federal forces on Americans should Trump not leave office

by Caroline Kelly

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on the heads of the Justice, Defense, Homeland Security and the Interior departments to commit to not using federal agents against protesters in American cities before and after the November election -- specifically in the event that President Donald Trump loses and refuses to leave office."You are each responsible for the command of military or civilian troops and domestic law," the Massachusetts Democrat wrote in a letter Tuesday to Defense Secretary Mark … Continue Reading


July 28, 2020

Reuters: Lawmakers probe White House pressure over schools reopening amid coronavirus

Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday asked the U.S. education secretary and head of a top government health agency for their correspondence with the White House to determine if political pressure influenced new federal recommendations on whether schools should reopen in the fall.Public comments from Republican President Donald Trump and members of his administration made clear that reopening schools was a priority and interfered in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) messages to … Continue Reading


July 27, 2020

Foreign Policy: Democrats Make Last-Ditch Effort to Kill a Trump Pentagon Nomination

by Jack Detsch

Democrats are urging U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Defense Department’s policy shop to withdraw his nomination over offensive and conspiratorial tweets, according to a new letter shared with Foreign Policy.In a last-ditch attempt to force Anthony Tata to give up his White House-backed bid to become the undersecretary of defense for policy, 10 Democratic lawmakers, led by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, argue that the retired Army brigadier general has a … Continue Reading


July 27, 2020

Common Dreams: Sen. Warren Demands Eviction Moratorium as New Reporting Sheds Light on Nation's Stark Housing Inequality

by Andrea Germanos

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday called for an extension of a federal evictions moratorium and expanded unemployment benefits in response to new reporting spotlighting Americans' divergent housing realities as a result of the nation's deepening inequality triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. The headline on the Washington Post's Monday story puts the disparity in clear terms: "2020 Is the Summer of Booming Home Sales—And Evictions." "Americans with money in the bank are buying bigger homes, … Continue Reading


July 27, 2020

The Real News Network: Elizabeth Warren On Why We Must Stop Utility Shutoffs During The Pandemic

With unemployment at record levels and an economy teetering on the edge, utility shutoffs threaten to compound the existing public health disaster unfolding in the US. The Real News is highlighting voices from a national campaign that is trying to do something to prevent this by demanding a national moratorium on shutoffs during the COVID crisis. In this first video in this series, Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks with Maria Bellen of Chelsea Green Roots about the impact of utility shutoffs on … Continue Reading


July 24, 2020

The Hill: Warren, Booker call for OSHA standards for meatpacking plants in next relief package

by Alex Gangitano

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) called on Friday for the next coronavirus relief package to include new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards as a way to address the ongoing issues at meatpacking plants during the pandemic.OSHA, a division of the Labor Department, has declined to impose a nationwide COVID-19 work safety standard through an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), despite months of calls to do so from unions, Democrats and worker … Continue Reading


July 23, 2020

The Hill: Democrats hit Interior secretary for reportedly refusing to wear mask in meeting with tribes

by Rachel Frazin

Three Democratic senators are criticizing Interior Secretary David Bernhardt over reports that he refused to wear a mask in a meeting with tribes in Oregon earlier this month.“On your July 9 visit with the Klamath Tribes of Oregon, the tribe expressed concerns that you and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the State of California refused to wear a mask ” wrote Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Ron Wyden (Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.).The letter did not name the … Continue Reading

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