After being sworn into office in January, United States Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren will reportedly join the Senate Banking Committee, according to Bloomberg. Warren is a law professor from Harvard University. According to Democratic aides, leaders in the Senate are going to assign Warren to the Banking Committee, but a final decision on assignments to committees will not occur until Congress gathers for a new session.
If Warren is added to the committee she would be responsible for writing banking legislation, including writing revisions to the Dodd-Frank Act. Incumbent Republican Scott Brown was defeated by Warren 54 to 46 percent in the election. Warren is the first woman senator from Massachusetts and is the heir to Edward Kennedy’s seat, which he held for 47 years.
Warren’s decision to run for the Senate came after President Barack Obama failed to nominate her as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Warren took part in building the bureau when working as an adviser to the Obama administration.
Warren has been criticized by the Republicans and even had her potential nomination as the bureau’s director blocked by the party.
“We certainly plan to reach out to Senator-Elect Warren,” said James Ballentine, executive vice president of congressional relations and political affairs at the American Bankers Association. “That outreach will stretch beyond Dodd-Frank reforms, which is the corner many will try to paint her into.”