The Senate Banking Committee will have a new leadership makeup in the next Congress. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will move from the ranking member role to the chairmanship, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will become the new committee’s new ranking member.
The shift in leadership comes as a result of Republicans taking over a majority in the Senate and former committee chair Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) losing his bid for re-election to incoming Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).
Scott recently published a detailed list of priorities for the committee under his leadership. He is the longest-serving Black senator in the nation’s history and will become the Senate Banking Committee’s first Black chair.
“My goal is simple: make America work for Americans. As we get to work cleaning up the mess from the previous administration, I look forward to working with President Trump on his priorities, including paving a path for all Americans to have the necessary tools and resources to achieve their version of the American Dream,” Scott said in a statement. “We will unlock opportunity, strengthen our nation, and make America the shining city on the Hill again.”
Scott also will serve on the Senate committees on finance; health, education, labor, and pensions; small business and entrepreneurship; homeland security and government affairs; and the special committee on aging.
Warren has served on the Senate Banking Committee since December 2012 where she’s levied some of the heaviest criticism of bank executives whose actions contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and those who have been accused of other wrongdoing as well. She was also critical of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) approach to industry supervision during the first Trump administration.
“I’ve spent my entire career fighting to make our economy work better for middle-class families – not just for the wealthy and well-connected,” Warren said in a statement. “Decisions made by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs have a powerful impact on Americans’ lives, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to fight for families who most need a government on their side.”
Before joining the committee, Warren was integral in the shaping of the Dodd-Frank Act and the establishment of the CFPB as an assistant to the president and a special advisor to the Treasury secretary. She was considered as an option to become the first CFPB director but met heavy pushback from Republicans concerned she might be an overzealous regulator.
The 119th Congress convened on Jan. 3 and will remain in place until 2027.