Elizabeth Warren faces fight from Wall Street for key committee assignment

Elizabeth Warren: Wall Street's nightmare. As usual, Wall Street is picking a fight with Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). No one makes more sense to take over one of two newly vacant seats on the Senate Banking Committee'left by retiring Sens. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Daniel Akaka (D-HI)'than a bankruptcy law expert and the person appointed as Congress's watchdog of the bank bailout. But the last thing the banksters want is a knowledgable and effective opponent in a position to curb them.

It's been clear since her victory on Nov. 6 that the Banking Committee is an obvious fit. There have been some whisperings of a Wall Street campaign against her, and now Mother Jones' Andy Kroll has confirmation.

Lobbyists and trade groups for Wall Street and other major banking players are pressuring lawmakers to deny Warren a seat on the powerful Senate banking committee. [...]

Aides to two senators on the banking committee tell Mother Jones the industry has already moved to block Warren from joining the committee, which is charged with drafting legislation regulating much of the financial industry. "Downtown"'shorthand for Washington's lobbying corridor'"has been going nuts" to keep her off the committee, another Senate aide says.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), a banking committee member, has been angling to get Warren on the committee, "but there are many bank lobbyists pushing to keep her off," a top Democratic Senate aide told Politico's Morning Money tipsheet. But the aide added, "If she really wants banking, it will be very tough politically to keep her off.

There's one person who that decision is ultimately up to, should Warren declare her preference to sit on the Banking Committee: Harry Reid, with some input from the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. Ultimately, though, it'll be up to Reid.

Tell Harry Reid to help level the playing field for Main Street and to appoint Warren to the Banking Committee. Sign our petition.