Senator and potential 2020 challenger attacks claim government hampers growth and promises to stand up to Republicans

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Elizabeth Warren has declared war on the Trump administration’s own “war on regulations”.

In a speech in Washington on Tuesday, the Massachusetts senator and potential 2020 challenger to Donald Trump delivered a liberal rejoinder to the president’s aggressive deregulatory agenda, which she said was really just evidence of a determination to “let the rich guys do whatever they want”.

The Republican argument that regulations hamper economic growth, she said, was a “big, greasy baloney sandwich”. Instead, the rollback of regulations catered to the interests of Wall Street and big business while forsaking rules that protect consumers, workers and the environment.

Senator Warren says Trump diplomacy has been a 'terrible mistake' Read more

“The so-called war on regulations isn’t about freedom,” Warren said at Georgetown University Law School. “The war on regulations is waged on behalf of giant companies that don’t want to follow any rules. So let’s call it what it really is – a war on public health, a war on public safety, a war on truly free and competitive markets, a war on American workers, a war on American consumers.”

Warren’s speech was expected to be the first of several on the subject. In the coming weeks, she said, she will introduce “sweeping anti-corruption legislation” that will aim to “padlock the revolving door between government and industry”, restrict lawmakers’ ability to make policy decisions that benefit themselves, and bolster the ability of federal agencies to pass consumer-friendly regulations.

Trump rode to Washington on the promise that he would “unleash” the American economy by stripping away red tape. In one of his first acts as president, he signed an executive order that required federal agencies to relax or eliminate two regulations for every new one introduced.

He has since boasted that he has slashed more regulations than any other president and that the ratio is closer to 22 regulations scrapped for each new one introduced. Independent factcheckers have called his claim hyperbolic.

Nonetheless, with the help of Congress Trump has rolled back regulations including a rule that would make it harder for mentally ill people to acquire guns and privacy legislation intended to protect internet users’ browsing data.

The administration has also turned its attention to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the agency Warren established in the wake of the financial crash. On Tuesday she defended the agency, drawing applause when she noted that it had returned roughly $12bn to consumers.

Earlier this year, however, several Democrats joined Republicans in loosening rules imposed on the banking industry after the financial crisis. Warren led opposition to the move, which was meant to relieve small banks and credit unions. The debate exposed deep Democratic rifts.



The financial sector is not the only industry taking advantage of a Republican Congress and White House. Warren also discussed the rollback of protections for workers, the environment and public lands.

Not “every regulation is good”, she said, admitting that sometimes “old rules need updating” and citing her bipartisan work to roll back restrictions on the purchase of hearing aids. But, she said, such changes are not the ones Republicans want to enact.

“The Republicans are working to insulate big corporations from competition and accountability,” she said. “They are making government work better and better for fewer and fewer people.”

Warren closed with a call to arms and a promise that “change is coming”.

“When we send a message that corporate profits and powerful interests cannot overpower the health, safety, and economic wellbeing of hardworking families, we fire a warning shot,” she said.

“This is our time, our responsibility, our chance to rebuild a country where government works, not just for the rich and powerful, but for the people.”