Warren questioned whether Antonio Weiss is right for the job. POLITICO Pro Warren: Put a lock on Wall Street's revolving door

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday escalated her fight against President Barack Obama’s choice of an investment banker to fill a key job at the Treasury Department, arguing that “enough is enough” when it comes to the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street.

The Massachusetts Democrat is using the president’s choice of Lazard banker Antonio Weiss to be undersecretary for domestic finance to stir a debate within the Democratic party over whether it is too cozy with Wall Street, particularly when filling top finance jobs in government.


Speaking at the liberal Economic Policy Institute, Warren cast her opposition to Weiss as part of a bigger battle against the influence of the finance industry in Washington.

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“Why does the revolving door matter?” she said. “Because it means that too much of the time, the wind blows from the same direction. Time after time in government, the Wall Street view prevails, and time after time, conflicting views are crowded out.”

Warren also continued to make the case for why Weiss specifically should not be confirmed. She said Weiss’ defenders haven’t shown that his experience as Lazard’s head of global banking prepares him for a job focused on domestic markets and financial regulation. She railed against his ties to Wall Street as “a corporate deal maker” and stood by her criticism of the Obama administration for selecting too many bankers for government posts.

“For me, this is one spin of the revolving door too many,” Warren said. “Enough is enough.”

Warren said the undersecretary job entails more than just peddling U.S. Treasuries to foreign investors and that Weiss would play a key role in crafting policy.

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She questioned whether Weiss was right for that role, considering his involvement in a recent corporate merger that allowed Burger King to move to Canada, which she insists was meant to help the company curb its tax obligations. The Treasury has opposed so-called tax inversion deals.

Warren also criticized the reported $20 million payout Weiss would receive from Lazard if he takes a government job.

“They say it is an important tool for making sure Wall Street executives will continue to be willing to run government policymaking,” she said. “If that sounds ridiculous to you, you’re not alone.”

Weiss’ supporters have defended the pick, arguing you need people with experience in financial markets to fill key policy and regulatory posts because they understand the issues. They also argue that many of Obama’s nominations to top finance posts were academics or career public servants. Warren pushed back Tuesday rattling off regulators both in the current and recent Democratic administrations who were tied to major Wall Street firms like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.

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Warren even jabbed at Weiss’ supporters for highlighting his role in publishing the Paris Review literary journal.

“If he liked monster truck racing would that show that he supported Wall Street bailouts?” Warren said. “I don’t get what this hobby has to do with overseeing consumer protection and domestic regulatory functions at the Treasury Department.”