Elizabeth Warren is an American politician who was elected to the United States Senate in 2012 as a Democrat. Specifically, Warren was elected to the Massachusetts Senate seat. Ideologically, many experts consider Warren to be a left-wing populist. Elizabeth Warren formally announced in February of 2019 that she would be a candidate for the 2020 presidential election.
Elizabeth Warren was born in Oklahoma City in 1949. She first studied speech pathology and audiology at the University of Houston. She was the first member of her family to graduate college. Afterward, she obtained her law degree from the Rutgers University School of Law. After getting her law degree, Warren practiced law from her home. She would go on to teach law at various different universities.
Elizabeth Warren’s legal focus was always on bankruptcy law. Congress passed a law in 1978 that made it significantly easier for individuals and companies to declare bankruptcy. This inspired Warren to figure out why so many individuals were filing for bankruptcy.
Researching bankruptcy legislation then became a major focus for Warren. She focused her research primarily on how it affected women, the elderly, and those who are working but aren’t well off financially. She also focused on the effects the legislation had on companies.
In 1995, Warren was asked to be an advisor on the National Bankruptcy Review Commission. On the commission, Warren took the role of chief advisor. During her time on the commission, she testified against legislation that would make it harder for individuals to file for bankruptcy. The legislation passed despite this testimony.
Her time National Bankruptcy Review Commission wasn’t the only congressional experience Warren received before being elected to the Senate. She was also asked by Harry Reid to be the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel. This panel was created to help oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program. In this position, Warren gave many interviews to various government officials and frequently demanded accountability from the banks the program was bailing out.
Barack Obama also appointed Elizabeth Warren to various different positions in his administration. These roles include Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury as well as Assistant to the President. As a Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, she worked primarily on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Her contributions in these roles were typically focused on protecting consumers.
After having all these roles that allowed her to help change the system to make it fairer for the average person, Warren decided to take it a step further and announced her candidacy for the Massachusetts Senate seat. The main focus of Warren’s 2012 campaign was on public services. She cited that everyone benefits from public services such as public education. Warren argued that as a result of this, it’s imperative for companies and successful individuals to pay it forward to the next generation.
Since becoming a member of the Senate, Elizabeth Warren has focused on both the financial transparency of the government as well as public services. After announcing her candidacy for the 2020 presidential election, Warren drew a lot of attention to her efforts in protecting consumers.
