Rep. Maxine Waters will continue to reclaim her time representing California in the House of Representatives for the next two years following her win in Tuesday’s Midterm Elections. In addition to being reelected, the Democrat is poised to take over the House Financial Services Committee, which would give her the power to take down big banks, fight against Wall Street corruption, and subpoena President Trump.
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Affectionately known as “Aunty Maxine,” Waters has been the top Democrat on the banking panel since former congressman Barney Frank retired in 2013. Now that Democrats won control of the House, she is likely to become the chair of the powerful panel, which has control over financial regulation and housing finance reform. This will give Waters the ability to execute on her pledge to fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and hold big banks accountable when their practices harm customers.
Throughout her 14-term tenure on The Hill, Waters has been a fierce critic of Wall Street and Trump, who is pushing a deregulatory agenda. Waters, on the other hand, has called for increased regulation of major financial institutions and even issued a report calling for Wells Fargo to shut down following a series of high-profile scandals. Waters later introduced the Megabank Accountability and Consequences Act, a bill that would require regulators to shut down a large bank for repeatedly violating consumer protection laws. She has also pledged to pass higher fines for major banks that break the law.
Furthermore, as chairwoman, Waters would be granted subpoena power to dig up dirt on other banks and target Deutsche Bank for its past dealings with Trump. With the committee gavel, Waters will also have the ability to issue subpoenas to Trump allies, like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, forcing him to provide documentation regarding the president’s alleged ties to Russia.