The Republican Party wipeout on Tuesday, which handed both chambers of Congress to the Democrats, is set to put Wall Street under fresh scrutiny from one of its most vocal critics.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is in line to chair the Senate Banking Committee, a scenario the paper described as a “nightmare” for executives used to getting a pass from Republicans.
Warren has spent nearly 20 years as one of Wall Street’s “fiercest antagonists,” the outlet reported. She has called private equity legalized “looting,” written legislation that could make it easier to jail executives, and demanded criminal investigations of bank leaders who failed to catch financial blowups. More recently, she tried to delay SpaceX’s record-setting IPO, pressed Anthropic about the existential risks of AI, and vowed to examine bankers’ ties to Jeffrey Epstein and the Trump administration.
Now she’ll have the gavel and subpoena power to go with it. The Journal reported she is expected to launch a new era of oversight targeting giants like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, along with “emerging industries like crypto and prediction markets.”
“It’s hard to imagine it’s good news for these industries,” said former Sen. Pat Toomey (PA), who was the committee’s top Republican. “She’s been very aggressive in attacking banks over the years.”
Since the election, Warren’s staff has been telling lobbyists and allies, including housing and consumer groups, to “expect more of the same from her,” only now she’ll be in charge. Her early priorities are likely to include her “Stop Wall Street Looting Act” targeting private equity, insider trading allegations at prediction markets and consumer protections at crypto firms. People close to her say “any company that’s received a letter from her should be on high alert,” according to the Journal.
Warren has also found unlikely common ground with Trump, including on alleged “de-banking” discrimination and cracking down on credit card fees, and she has pledged to work with Republicans.
“She has contentious relationships with the largest firms, and I don’t think that’s going to change,” Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at Stifel, told the Journal. “I think she’s going to pick her battles. I don’t think she wants to be seen as simply anti-bank.”
She won’t be alone. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is set to lead the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is favored to chair the House Financial Services Committee. Both are expected to dig into “the crypto industry and its ties to Trump’s orbit,” the report noted.
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