Ocasio-Cortez secures seat on Financial Services Committee
WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has secured a position on one of the House’s most powerful committees, pitting the New York Democrat against the Wall Street banks she has long criticized.
With a seat on the House Financial Services Committee, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez will be at the center of discussions about whether big banks deserve regulatory relief, the need for housing affordability and the independence of the Federal Reserve. “I am very grateful for the opportunity to sit on this committee as a freshman,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter.
Less than a month after being sworn into Congress, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has emerged as one of her party’s most prominent national figures, unafraid to use her Twitter account, and its more than 2 million followers, to drive an agenda — and agitate many on the political right. The 29-year old socialist Democrat could now train that spotlight on banks such as Wells Fargo, which has spent years attempting to move beyond scandals about alleged consumer abuses.
“I cannot stress how important this moment is. [Democrats] are putting members who rejected corporate campaign money on a committee overseeing Wall St.,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. “It’s a huge win.”
The committee will be led by another progressive force, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who outlined a broad agenda on Wednesday, including $13 billion legislation to address homelessness, and establishing a first of its kind subcommittee to examine diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry.
“I consider it a privilege to hold the gavel,” Ms. Waters said before a standing-room only crowd at the Center for American Progress.
Lawmakers will also revisit Mick Mulvaney’s yearlong leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said Ms. Waters, who is the first woman and first African American to lead the committee. Mr. Mulvaney, President Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff and White House budget director, has been criticized for severely weakening the agency while serving as its acting director.
“While his time running the consumer bureau may be over, the time for accountability for his actions is about to begin,” Ms. Waters said.
Privately, banking industry executives and lobbyists have expressed mixed feelings about Ms. Waters’ leadership and Ms. OcasioCortez’s short, but already convincing, track record for driving public conversations.
While Ms. Waters is a well-known figure who has served on the committee for more than 20 years and developed a reputation for bipartisan dealmaking, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s legislative style is still unknown, they say. Big banks have already largely given up on securing significant new regulatory relief through Congress until after the 2020 presidential election, but being repeatedly hauled before the Financial Services Committee could still produce embarrassing headlines and lengthy investigations.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s “political clout may be significant and growing, but it pales [in] comparison with” that of Ms. Waters and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Jaret Seiberg, financial services analyst at Cowen Research Group, wrote in a research note Wednesday. Ms. Warren serves on the Senate Banking Committee and has announced a run for president.