Human Capital: Elizabeth Warren, Treasury Secretary?

Welcome back to Human Capital! After the Democratic National Convention last week— and former Vice President Joe Biden’s official nomination as the party’s candidate — buzz is also swirling around Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and what role she may play in a Biden administration, if there is one.

Given her financial regulatory acumen, would Warren be picked as Treasury secretary? How about director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — the controversial agency she helped create? Also, what would the regulatory environment look like under a Biden administration?

Brian Knight, senior research fellow and director of Innovation and Governance at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, weighs in with Human Capital on whether Warren would even want those posts. He points out: If Biden wins, the Senate flips to Democratic control and the House stays that way, Warren “may have a lot more power in dealing with financial issues by staying in the Senate.”

Keep scrolling to see more of Knight’s comments on Warren’s potential new job prospects as well as views on Biden’s regulatory stance from Aaron Cutler at Hogan Lovells.

During her speech Aug. 19 at the Democratic National Convention, Warren strayed from her usual “crackdown on Wall Street” message, focusing instead on child care and praising Biden’s plans to increase Social Security benefits, cancel millions in student loan debt and “make bankruptcy laws work for families.”

As to potential Biden administration posts, secretary of the Treasury “makes the most sense,” Knight opines. While not a primary regulator, in terms of regulatory policy Treasury “does a lot of work” in that area along with “facilitating the administration’s view and interacting with Congress.”

Treasury secretary would be the “capstone, most prestigious position” for Warren, according to Knight.