Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., joined President Obama for the weekly White House address Saturday celebrating the six-year anniversary since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act were signed into law.
Warren, once thought of as a running mate for presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, led the charge for enhanced banking regulations following the 2008 recession.
“These reforms have already made our financial system safer and more resilient,” Obama said. “And part of passing those strong consumer protections meant establishing the first-ever Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, based on an idea that Sen. Warren came up with before the crisis even began.”
The two chided Republicans and big banks for their opposition to the laws, but did not mention a leading Democratic senator who has criticized the regulations.
“But every year, like clockwork, big banks and their Republican allies in Congress try to roll back these protections and undermine the consumer watchdog, whose only job is to look out for you,” Warren said.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who Clinton announced Friday as her pick for the Democratic vice presidential slot, said earlier this week he would support rolling back these regulations because of the negative effect they have had on community banks and credit unions.
Clinton has been criticized during her campaign for accepting enormous speaking fees from Wall Street and corporate groups. Her alignment with Kaine, who wants to ease the regulations, puts them up against a more rigid Warren-Obama partnership.
