Elizabeth Warren Leads Progressive Charge [View all]

Elizabeth Warren Leads Progressive Charge, but Has GOP Admirers Too

By Niels Lesniewski and Bridget Bowman
Posted at 5 a.m. on May 19, 2014

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

“What reaction do you usually expect from banks?” Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked a reporter last week.

It was classic Warren. Appearing at a news conference with fellow Democrats and D.C.-area college students to roll out legislation she spearheaded that would let borrowers refinance student loans, the Massachusetts Democrat dismissed a question about financial institutions losing profits from older, high-interest loans.

“There’s a real question here. Does Congress work for the rich and the powerful, for those who can hire armies of lobbyists and lawyers, or does Congress work for the rest of America?” Warren asked. “We believe the rest of America should get a fair shot at an affordable education.”

The Democratic senator is well known for her populist criticism of big banks, and the financial services sector more generally, as well as for being the driving force behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And she’s raised her profile with a tour for her recently-released book “A Fighting Chance,” during which she’s been greeted by largely adoring audiences and no shortage of calls for her to seek the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2016.

Her national profile makes her a natural to lead Democratic efforts to rally their progressive base — like with the student loan bill — but her status as a star on the left doesn’t seem to have hampered her ability to work with GOP senators under the Dome ...

Much more here: http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/elizabeth-warren-leads-progressive-banner-but-has-gop-admirers-too/