Wall Street And Big Tech’s Blue Wave Nightmare: Elizabeth Warren Working With Republicans

Republicans are turning on big business. It’s creating an opening for Elizabeth Warren.

In the event of a blue tsunami, the Massachusetts Democrat is poised to chair the Senate Banking Committee, giving the long-time corporate watchdog her most powerful perch yet to take on the giants of Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

While that’s no surprise to the business community, the big risk that lobbyists see on the horizon has more to do with a populist surge on the right — a shift that creates a powerful opportunity for Warren to team up with Republicans eager to take swings at corporate America.

For years, Warren has partnered with GOP lawmakers — including Vice President JD Vance — to take on heavyweights including banks, cryptocurrency firms, insurers and the Federal Reserve. Now, she is gearing up to use the Banking gavel to try to find broader bipartisan common ground.

According to people close to Warren and industry lobbyists, Warren as Banking Committee chair is expected to try to recruit Republicans in a crackdown on artificial intelligence — specifically restrictions on chip giant Nvidia’s exports to China, a push where she’s already working with Indiana GOP Sen. Jim Banks. She is also poised to pursue a potential follow-up to this year’s sweeping bipartisan housing law that sought to boost supply and rein in private equity’s role in the market.

One longtime financial industry lobbyist, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Warren “has a streak that is not just wanting to be a progressive gadfly, but to actually reach across the aisle to push for policy ideas.” There is “absolutely” reason for concern, the person said. A technology industry lobbyist also granted anonymity said on AI chips, “I’d expect her to move legislation with Republicans first, because that’s where she can get a win.”

“She has demonstrated over time that there are many issues Democrats and Republicans can work on together to help working families that don’t mean tax cuts or deregulation for big corporations,” said Dan Geldon, a longtime top Warren adviser who served as chief of staff of her Senate office and 2020 presidential campaign.

The growing industry fear is the latest evidence of a dramatic populist shift across Washington — one that’s poised to accelerate as Republicans and Democrats enter wide-open presidential primaries in the coming months. Atop Senate Banking, Warren would have a powerful position to shape the debate on both sides.

“There’s very little doubt that the agenda of the Senate Banking Committee is going to overlap substantially with the core issues that the candidates in the 2028 election cycle are going to be grappling with,” said Dennis Kelleher, the outgoing leader of the financial watchdog group Better Markets. “I think the Senate Banking Committee is going to have an outsized influence and impact on the 2028 campaigns.”

Warren declined to comment about her potential Banking Committee agenda, saying she is focused on the midterms. She said in a statement that “Democrats are united in doing everything we can to bring down costs and make this economy work for families.”

Populist ideas that President Donald Trump has endorsed — like credit card interest rate caps, a lightning-rod bill to crack down on swipe fees and limits on stock buybacks for defense contractors — could provide fertile ground for Warren as Banking chair. But the president could also be an obstacle to her lawmaking efforts. Trump called Warren in January to discuss working together on capping credit card rates, but he has been resistant to publicly embrace their policy overlaps. He has derided her as “a nut job” and dinged the housing bill as being “Warren-centric.” Plus, he has strongly opposed AI restrictions.

Still, if Warren does take over the Banking chair, one major focus that largely unites Democrats and splits Republicans is expected to be cracking down on big chipmakers like Nvidia by imposing new export controls — an issue she has worked on with GOP China hawks like Banks and Sen. Tom Cotton. Senate Banking’s jurisdiction over export controls provides a key lane for Warren to influence the AI policy debate.

“Export controls, in the context of the most important tech race of our lifetime, is absolutely something where we have been, and will work across the aisle,” said one Senate GOP staffer who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Warren has signaled she wants to investigate why the Trump administration hasn’t used its authority to halt exports of advanced chips to China.

“Trump has the tools right now to stop the export of the cutting-edge chips that help China develop more advanced AI systems. I would like to understand better why he hasn’t used those,” she said last week.

She has also questioned Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s access to Trump’s meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and called on him to testify at Senate Banking.

Warren’s approach threatens to expose rifts between GOP populists who have been ascendant under Trump and more mainstream conservatives. Asked about the possibility of a Chair Warren, Sen. Mike Rounds, a more moderate South Dakota Republican, said he doesn’t “think anything would get done except lots of investigations and lots of accusations.”

The Banking gavel would test Warren’s ability to hold together her own Democratic members, including moderates like Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, with whom she has clashed in the past over issues like bank deregulation.

“There’s a lot of areas I’ve agreed with, a lot of areas I’ve disagreed with,” Warner said. “We always have spirited disputes, but I think we have mutual respect.”

Even if Democrats do take back the Senate, two potential obstacles could still stand in the way of Warren claiming the Banking job, though both appear unlikely.

Warner, who has more seniority than Warren on the committee, hasn’t ruled out giving up his position as the top Democrat on Senate Intelligence to pursue the Banking gavel, though most observers expect him to stay put.

“Let’s not put any cart before the horse,” Warner, who’s up for reelection, said when asked about his plans. “I’ve got to see if I can get rehired first.”

Separately, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running to recapture an Ohio Senate seat, could make a push to reclaim his seniority and leapfrog her on the panel.

Brown served for a decade as the top Banking Democrat before losing his 2024 reelection bid. But caucus rules state that seniority “dates from a Member’s current entry into the Party Conference,” and precedent regarding seniority wouldn’t be on his side.

Democrats — including moderates on the panel — have praised Warren’s work as Banking ranking member, pointing to the housing bill, which she led with Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

“She’s our ranking member, and I don’t think there’s going to be any difference,” said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). “I think she has brought us in; we’ve had conversations. She’s very engaged with all the Democrats — she talks with us, she responds to us.”

Ari Hawkins contributed to this report.