"Weiss supporters in the White House and on Wall Street were stunned."

[MannyGoldstein]

Interesting article in Politico today on how Elizabeth Warren ended Obama’s nomination of rich Wall Street banker Antonio Weiss to be Under Secretary for Domestic Finance. Warren led the effort to totally shut the deal down – she wouldn’t even meet with Weiss. Some choice bits:

The game in Washington had changed.

Elizabeth Warren, sometimes disregarded by the White House as a largely irrelevant nuisance, could no longer be ignored. Bolstered by grass roots groups eager for any anti-Wall Street crusade and a vibrant progressive media that hung on her every word, Warren succeeded in knocking out Weiss’ nomination

…

It was not a total victory. Weiss will still join Treasury as an unconfirmed counselor to Secretary Jack Lew. But in terms of symbolism, the Washington power game and the ideological direction of the Democratic Party, Warren won big. And the moderate, Wall Street- and business-friendly wing of the party — in past years happily occupied by Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting Hillary Clinton — got punched in the mouth.

…

On the other side, the despair among Wall Street’s Democratic elite is growing acute. As is the belief that Weiss himself never mattered in this fight.

If it wasn’t obvious before, Warren’s speeches in Congress on December 10th and December 12th (required watching if you haven’t seen them!) made it clear that Warren’s at war with Wall Street Predators and their paid help in government. Her speeches were in response to the White House and Jamie Dimon whipping votes from Democratic senators to enable the big banks to use FDIC funds (which guarantee savings bank deposits) as collateral for huge and risky Wall Street derivative bets.

Thanks Sen. Warren!!!