News Coverage
Business Insider: Elizabeth Warren lays out 3 things on the line for student-loan borrowers ahead of Trump's Education Department pick facing Congress
Two Democratic lawmakers want President Donald Trump's education secretary nominee to come prepared with ideas to protect student-loan borrowers ahead of her appearance in Congress this week. Linda McMahon, Trump's pick to lead the Department of Education, is scheduled to have her confirmation hearing on Thursday. In their first preview of how they plan to approach the hearing, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim sent a letter to McMahon on Tuesday — exclusively viewed by Business … Continue Reading
February 11, 2025
CNBC: Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Current FDIC staffing shortages ‘threaten the safety and soundness of the banking system’
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is urging the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to reevaluate the decision to rescind more than 200 job offers to bank examiners in the wake of President Donald Trump's federal hiring freeze. The FDIC is already severely understaffed, which "threatens the stability of the banking system," Warren, D-Mass., explained in a letter sent Monday to Inspector General Jennifer Fain and shared exclusively with CNBC. In the letter, also signed by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., … Continue Reading
February 07, 2025
Bloomberg Tax: Warren Demands Watchdog Probe of Musk Team's Treasury Access
Democrats led by Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Treasury and IRS watchdogs to probe federal payment system access granted to tech billionaire Elon Musk or his surrogates. Treasury has faced the ire of Democrats in both the House and Senate, and face lawsuits accusing the agency and newly confirmed Secretary Scott Bessent of breaking federal laws by providing access. Conflicting responses from Treasury and President Donald Trump about what happened … Continue Reading
February 07, 2025
New York Times: Senate Democrats Demand Clarity About Musk’s Efforts at Education Dept.
Senate Democrats demanded answers from the Education Department on Thursday about the scope of Elon Musk’s data collection efforts at the agency, which appears to be a focus of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting initiative. The letter, by a coalition of 15 lawmakers, reflected growing concern about the aggressive incursions that members of Mr. Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency have made into an array of federal agencies, including the Education Department. It came as … Continue Reading
February 06, 2025
Politico Pro: Senate Dems press RFK Jr. for more ethics pledges ahead of floor vote
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent ethics concessions aren't assuaging two Senate Democrats on the panels charged with vetting his nomination to be HHS secretary. Senate Finance member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions member Tim Kaine (D-Va.) demanded additional commitments from Kennedy on Wednesday ahead of his confirmation vote - which could occur as soon as next week - to mitigate what they say are continued conflicts of interest. In a letter shared … Continue Reading
February 05, 2025
Politico Pro: Warren presses Trump’s USTR nominee on ‘haphazard’ tariffs
Senate Finance Committee member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked the nominee to lead the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to explain President Donald Trump's "chaotic and haphazard" approach to tariffs and trade in a letter sent Tuesday. Warren in her letter calls tariffs an "important strategic economic tool" but took the Trump administration to task for courting a trade war by threatening to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Warren's letter is the latest … Continue Reading
February 05, 2025
Wall Street Journal: Elizabeth Warren Agrees With Trump: Big Banks Discriminate
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said her office has identified thousands of examples of consumers losing access to their bank accounts. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Elizabeth Warren agrees with President Trump about something. The Democratic senator from Massachusetts told Trump on Tuesday that she thinks the White House should take action to stop what she said were discriminatory practices by the country’s biggest banks, according to a letter from her office that was viewed by The Wall Street … Continue Reading
February 04, 2025
Politico: Warren, Wyden call for probe of Musk aides’ access to Treasury payments
The top Democrats overseeing the Treasury Department are calling on a congressional watchdog to investigate the Trump administration's decision to give Elon Musk's team access to the federal system that controls trillions of dollars in payments. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Tuesday asked the Government Accountability Office to open an inquiry into how newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent allowed Musk’s government efficiency group to gain access to the … Continue Reading
February 04, 2025
NBC News: With military housing costs skyrocketing, Democratic senators request Pentagon action
During his 11 years as a Marine, Brenden Taylor and his family have moved several times. But when they left Okinawa, Japan, in 2022 for Camp Pendleton in Southern California, finding an affordable home to rent using his military housing allowance became an almost impossible challenge. Finally, they found something they could afford in Murietta, a 45-minute drive from the base. Rising rents are a problem for many families. From 2021 to 2023, the median U.S. rent increased 25%, adjusted for … Continue Reading
February 03, 2025
Washington Post: Senators urge tougher chip controls to stymie Chinese AI advance
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) have issued a populist appeal to Commerce Secretary-designate Howard Lutnick to toughen chip export controls against China, in response to the country’s surprise DeepSeek AI breakthrough. “Multiple administrations have failed — at the behest of corporate interests — to update and enforce our export controls in a timely manner. We cannot let that continue,” they wrote in a letter provided exclusively to The Washington … Continue Reading
February 03, 2025
NBC News: Democratic senators say they have 'grave concerns' over RFK Jr.'s potential financial conflicts
Two Democratic senators on the committee that will get to decide whether to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination say his recent financial disclosure filing gave them “grave concern” about whether he should become the next health and human services secretary. In a letter to Kennedy dated Sunday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said his recently amended ethics disclosure form only raised additional questions about the scope of his potential financial conflicts of … Continue Reading
February 03, 2025
New York Times: Warren Questions Bessent Over Musk Access to Treasury Payment System
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts sent a letter on Monday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding answers for why the so-called Department of Government Efficiency was granted access to the federal payments system, giving Elon Musk and his team a powerful tool that could be used to track and potentially limit government spending. The letter is a sign of mounting outrage among Democrats over the unorthodox efforts that the Trump administration and Mr. Musk are preparing to take … Continue Reading
February 01, 2025
CNN: Sen. Warren demands Musk explain potential involvement in FAA administrator’s resignation
Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to know what role billionaire Elon Musk played in the resignation of Mike Whitaker, who led the Federal Aviation Administration during the Biden administration. Whitaker’s departure earlier this month left the agency without a key leader during Wednesday’s deadly aviation collision in the Washington, DC, area. The Massachusetts Democrat on Friday wrote a letter to Musk — addressed to the White House, where he is working as head of President Donald Trump’s … Continue Reading
January 30, 2025
Notus: The Senate’s Top Democrats on Housing Are Demanding Answers About the Impacts of the Federal Aid Freeze
Key Democrats on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee are trying to get answers from the Trump administration on how its intended federal aid freeze could or has affected federal housing programs. In a letter obtained by NOTUS, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking member of the committee, and Sen. Tina Smith, the ranking member of a subcommittee focused on housing, requested more information about which Housing and Urban Development programs were part of the … Continue Reading
January 28, 2025
Bloomberg: Warren Presses Lutnick on Crypto Firm Loved by Outlaws
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is pressing Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick on connections he and his firm Cantor Fitzgerald LP have with a company that’s the go-to cryptocurrency of the criminal world, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest ahead of his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Warren asked Lutnick about his relationship to Tether Holdings Ltd., including how much he and Cantor Fitzgerald — the Wall Street investment bank and brokerage — have invested … Continue Reading
January 28, 2025
Associated Press: Trump’s nominee for Pentagon weapons buyer was a key figure in the president’s first impeachment
President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the military’s top weapons buyer is an official who directed the Pentagon to withhold aid from Ukraine in 2019 as Trump sought a commitment from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate the Biden family — a key component of the impeachment of Trump in his first term. That relationship is raising questions among some senators about whether the nominee will follow the law if confirmed for a powerful new position that oversees a budget of $311 … Continue Reading
January 27, 2025
NBC News: Democratic lawmakers slam Trump for not making good on promise to 'immediately' lower food prices amid egg shortage
Donald Trump vowed to slash grocery prices as soon as he took office, yet he has barely addressed the cost of food in the whirlwind of executive orders he signed in his first week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic lawmakers wrote in a searing letter. The letter, addressed to Trump, accuses the president of backtracking on a campaign promise to lower supermarket bills starting on Day 1 of his term. “During your campaign, you repeatedly promised you would lower food prices … Continue Reading
January 23, 2025
CNBC: Democratic lawmakers ask regulators to look into Donald and Melania Trump meme coins
Two senior congressional Democrats have asked multiple regulators to look into the propriety of meme coins issued by President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Jake Auchincloss, both of Massachusetts, raised issues regarding the first couple using their respective offices for enrichment, along with the potential for "rug-pull" scams similar to what has happened with the other such tokens, as well as possible conflicts of interest. "We write with deep … Continue Reading
January 23, 2025
CBS News: Big banks hiked interest rates on borrowers but not for savers, senators say
As interest rates climbed, major banks charged borrowers more for mortgages and auto loans, yet never increased payouts to savers, despite telling lawmakers they would do so, say two U.S. senators in letters to seven CEOs, shared exclusively with CBS News. In March 2022, the Federal Reserve started raising the federal funds rate, with banks following suit by hiking rates for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. But those increases were not matched with high interest rate payouts on savings … Continue Reading
January 23, 2025
TIME: Warren's Plan for Musk to Cut U.S. Spending
If Elon Musk is serious about cutting government waste, fraud, and abuse, he may find help in an unusual place: Elizabeth Warren. While many Democrats in Congress want nothing to do with the billionaire who spent a fortune to help elect Donald Trump, the Massachusetts Senator says she wants to find common ground with Musk in his new role leading the White House's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In a letter she sent him Thursday morning, Warren proposed 30 recommendations for … Continue Reading