June 2, 2011
The Associated Press reports that several House Democrats, including Dodd-Frank co-author Barney Frank, believe some do not want to see Elizabeth Warren leading the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is because she is a woman.
“Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, said some of the resistance to Warren, a Harvard law professor, is because of a feeling that a woman should not tell bankers what to do,” reports the Associated Press.
At the same news conference, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) commented “the other side can’t win arguments on their merits — and I would add, especially when they’re threatened by an accomplished and articulate woman — that’s when they make it personal.”
Woolsey did not cite specific examples.
“Some people almost unconsciously think that for a woman to be in an important position regarding the titans of the financial industry is not appropriate,” Frank said at the news conference. He said while that attitude hasn’t affected the substance of the debate over Warren, “The tone has been exacerbated.”
The Associated Press reports that Frank did not provide any individuals or instances in which Warren’s gender has factored into her treatment.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL), when asked about Frank’s comments, said the GOP is opposed to a sole director for the CFPB, not to Warren herself.
“He praised her intelligence and commitment to consumer protection and called her a ‘straight-shooter,'” reports the Associated Press.
Last month, 44 GOP senators led by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) in a letter to President Obama vowed to block any CFPB nominee until the agency’s regulatory authority was reigned in.
When asked about Frank’s comments, Shelby spokesman Jonathan Graffeo said, “That’s beyond baseless. It’s just outright silly.”
Eighty-nine House Democrats sent a letter to President Obama on Thursday, encouraging him to make Warren the head of the CFPB through a recess appointment. Click here to read more.
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