Mina Haq

USA TODAY

She did it again. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has often energized her liberal base with her take-no-prisoners attitude, found herself in a familiar position on the Senate floor Tuesday: fighting back against congressional Republicans. Tuesday night was one of many instances Warren went toe-to-toe with the powerful. Here are some of her best takedowns, starting with last night’s confrontation:

Opposing Jeff Sessions

While debating the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, Warren read a scathing 1986 letter from civil rights icon Coretta Scott King opposing Sessions as a potential federal judge. In the letter, King called Sessions’ attempts to intimidate elderly black voters “reprehensible.” Warren read until Majority Leader Mitch McConnell silenced her for “impugning” Sessions’ motives.

While Warren was forced to take her seat, she did not go quietly. “I am surprised the words of Coretta Scott King are not suitable for debate in the United States Senate,” she said before the Senate ruled against her. Warren read the entire letter on Facebook live outside the Senate, and the hashtag #LetLizSpeak immediately spread on Twitter. McConnell inadvertently did Democrats a favor by interrupting, galvanizing Warren's supporters and letting the letter dominate headlines before Sessions’ confirmation vote, especially now that fellow Democratic senators are picking up where Warren left off.

Grilling Betsy DeVos

Before the Senate narrowly confirmed Betsy DeVos as education secretary, she faced fierce Democratic (and even some Republican) opposition. Warren led the charge during DeVos’ confirmation hearings, railing against the nominee’s lack of experience and vague answers. Some of the sharpest exchanges came when Warren asked DeVos if she had ever needed financial aid to pay for higher education, or if DeVos would commit to enforcing established employment rules at for-profit institutions. “If you can’t commit to use the tools that are already available to you in the Department of Education, then I don’t see how you can be the secretary of education,” was Warren’s kicker after a rocky round of questioning.

Verbally destroying Wells Fargo CEO

Warren held nothing back when grilling former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf over allegations the bank opened millions of accounts without customers’ permission to make quotas. “Evidently, your definition of accountable is to push the blame to your low-level employees who don't have the money for a fancy P.R. firm to defend themselves. It's gutless leadership,” she said before calling on him to resign. Warren’s relentless questioning earned her a praise from supporters and non-supporters alike, with some citing her as one of few politicians who is consistently tough on Wall Street.

Warren vs. Trump

Warren has been one of President Trump’s harshest and most vocal critics since he announced his intention to run for office. Trump is no stranger to name-calling, often referring to Warren as “Pocahontas,” or “goofy,” so Warren has fought back and called him every name imaginable: insecure, a loser, a flagrant narcissist, a bully and a thin-skinned fraud, to name a few.

“Women have had it with guys like you,” Warren said to a raucous crowd during a memorable campaign speech for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. “And nasty women have really had it with guys like you.” She was far from Trump’s only critic, but Warren has embraced and perfected the role as one of his biggest attackers in the Senate.