Fresh from quelling the progressive uprising against the “cromnibus” spending bill, the White House isn’t backing down on its other major fight with Democratic progressives: the nomination of a Wall Street banker for a top Treasury job.

Liberal opposition to President Barack Obama’s choice of investment banker Antonio Weiss as treasury undersecretary only hardened in response to the inclusion of a bank-friendly provision in the Obama-backed spending bill.


“Enough is enough with Wall Street insiders getting key position after key position and the kind of cronyism that we have seen in the executive branch,” thundered Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in a speech on the Senate floor late Friday night that quickly caught fire with progressive activists, gaining close to 150,000 views on YouTube.

Nonetheless, people who support Weiss are circulating endorsements and promising that once the 48-year-old Lazard banker gets behind closed doors for meetings with undecided Democrats he will convince them he has all the credentials to do the job of undersecretary for domestic finance, the department’s third most senior position.

( Also on POLITICO: Elizabeth Warren to oppose Antonio Weiss as Treasury undersecretary)

On Friday, Weiss supporters circulated a letter sent to leaders of the Senate Finance Committee from four people who previously held the undersecretary job arguing that Weiss was perfectly suited to the position.

“Based on our own service in the position,” the authors wrote, “it is our judgment that Mr. Weiss has more than the requisite skills and experience to be successful in that office.” The letter was signed by former undersecretaries Mary Miller, Bob Steel, Jeffrey Goldstein and Randal Quarles.

A long list of corporate executives, organized by the Partnership for New York City, also wrote to incoming Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah and the current chairman, Ron Wyden of Oregon, urging the Senate to confirm Weiss.

“Antonio is exceptionally well qualified for the position by virtue of his two and a half decades in business working with companies and governments in the United States and around the world,” the executives wrote. “He is a widely respected business leader who is known for his independence, integrity and understanding of financial markets” who will be a “careful steward of the Treasury debt market.”

( Also on POLITICO: Shaheen joins opposition to Weiss)

Signers of the letter included chief executives Jeffrey L. Bewkes of Time Warner, Kenneth I. Chenault of American Express, James Gorman of Morgan Stanley, Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone and many more.

Such titans of industry are not likely to sway liberal Democratic members of the Senate, led by Warren, who have revolted against the nomination, saying Weiss is too close to Wall Street and does not have enough regulatory experience. Warren tweeted in response to the CEOs’ letter: “Wall St CEOs think Antonio Weiss would do a great job overseeing Wall St reform. Doesn’t that make you feel better?”

In addition to Warren, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the number two Democrat in the leadership, indicated he would oppose Weiss. Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Joe Manchin of West Virginia are also opposed, as is independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Some on the left speculated on Friday that the White House might back off on Weiss after it enraged progressives by supporting the year-end spending bill that included a provision rolling back a financial reform measure forcing banks to take risky derivative trades out of taxpayer-backstopped subsidiaries.

( Also on POLITICO: Warren: Put a lock on Wall Street's revolving door)

Opposition to the spending measure, once again led by Warren, nearly led Democrats in the House to kill the bill on Thursday. Only a last-minute flurry of lobbying by the White House — and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon — managed to get the bill through.

But the White House was adamant Friday that the administration would not give up on Weiss and dismissed the idea that it might pull his nomination to appease Democrats angry about the cromnibus.

“Antonio Weiss is a highly qualified nominee,” White House spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman said in an emailed statement. “His deep expertise in financial markets and economic issues makes him the right person to serve as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance. Throughout his 20-year career, he has advised companies on how to grow their businesses and finance that growth.”

The growing numbers of corporate leaders defending Weiss could help lock down support from Republicans who will ultimately decide Weiss’ fate in the next Congress. Meanwhile, the White House will have to persuade moderate Democrats that Weiss isn’t too close to the firms he would regulate.

People supportive of Weiss say he has highly progressive views on tax and regulatory policy that will become clear in private meetings early next year. They also expect that Weiss’ expertise in financial matters will also help convince Democrats who might be wavering on his nomination.

( Also on POLITICO: Banker blowback)

Backers of Weiss in the administration and on Wall Street argue that the Treasury Department desperately needs someone with deep experience in markets who can help manage the $18 trillion in U.S. debt. Neither current Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, despite spending a couple years at Citigroup, nor Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin, have much markets experience.

The dynamic next year will also be quite different. Republicans will control the Senate and could likely confirm Weiss without any Democratic support, if it came to that.

So far, several Republicans have spoken positively about Weiss, including Hatch and Rob Portman of Ohio. But Republicans could also sit on the nomination and let Democrats continue to squabble internally.

Many Weiss supporters fear this and so would like to get widespread support from Democrats in addition to wooing Republicans.

Warren and others will not make that easy, however. The Massachusetts Democrat will continue to speak out against Weiss and urge other senators to oppose the nomination. And the White House will have a tougher sales job after pressing Democratic members to vote for a spending bill that included what many viewed as a Wall Street handout.