Senator accuses the president elect of breaking promise to 'drain the swamp'

Elizabeth Warren has accused Donald Trump of breaking his campaign pledge to ‘drain the swamp’ of Washington corruption by hiring corporate lobbyists to his transition team.

The Massachusetts Senator, in an explosive letter to the president elect, said Trump has hired ‘over 20 Wall Street elites, industry insiders and lobbyists’ who will make political decisions that could benefit their business interests.

She vowed to track his ‘every move’ for the next four years if he fails to replace this team with people who ‘fight for the interests of all Americans’.

Her letter named names with a full inventory of Trump’s team and their corporate links, and called on him to drop them, saying anything less would be ‘selling out the American people’.

Warren added: ‘Should you refuse, I oppose you, every step of the way, for the next four years.

“I will track your every move, and I will remind Americans, every day, of the actions you take that fail them.”

You can read the full letter here (PDF).

Warren, who is special advisor to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a watchdog set up under Obama, wrote:

“Within days of your election, you have elevated a slew of Wall Street bankers, industry insiders, and special interest lobbyists to your transition team. Even more are rumored to be named as potential cabinet members. Based on public reports, your transition team and your potential cabinet include over twenty Wall Street elites, industry insiders, and lobbyists making decisions that could have huge implications for their clients or employers. They include, among many others, a former Goldman Sachs executive who is rumored to be a Treasury Secretary pick; a paid consultant for Verizon who is making key decisions on your administration’s Federal Communication Commission; a ‘top lobbyist’ whose firm lobbied on behalf of issues related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership who is shaping your Labor Department; and a climate-change denying, oil industry-paid think tank fellow who is leading your environmental team’s transition.

She added:

“If you truly stand by your commitment to making government work for all Americans – not just those with armies of lobbyists on payroll – you must remove the lobbyists and financial bigwigs from your transition team and reinstate a group of advisors who will fight for the interests of all Americans. Maintaining a transition team of Washington insiders sends a clear signal to all who are watching you – that you are already breaking your campaign promises to ‘drain the swamp’ and that you are selling out the American public.”

The letter concludes:

“Let me be clear. Should you refuse, I will oppose you, every step of the way, for the next four years. I will champion the millions of Americans you will fail to protect. I will track your every move, and I will remind Americans, every day, of the actions you take that fail them. And I will not be the only one watching. The millions of Americans who voted for you – and the millions who didn’t – will all be watching you.”

Adam Barnett is staff writer for Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter @AdamBarnett13

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