Republicans and Donald Trump love to insult and make fun of Rep. Maxine Waters of California. But they’d do well not to underestimate her. While she’s spent a lot of time and energy over the last two years calling for Trump’s impeachment (as she should), Waters is an experienced Democratic lawmaker, having served in Congress since 1991, and is now poised to make an even bigger impact over the next few years.
With the Democratic takeover of the House or Representatives earlier this month, Waters becomes the first woman and first black lawmaker to lead the House Financial Services Committee. As The Mercury News reports, this new role gives her “broad influence over the financial world – from Wall Street regulations to flood insurance.”
This has Wall Street extremely nervous. As much as bankers and the Wall Street crowd may not publicly side with Donald Trump (after all, these are the kinds of folks who think it’s “impolite” to appear racist, even though many of them certainly are), they love his policies.
The banking industry has been benefiting from deregulation efforts under Trump-appointed regulators, which could slow under pressure from Waters. She could also use her position to turn up pressure on Wells Fargo, which has admitted to various consumer abuses in the past two years, and Equifax, which suffered a massive data breach that compromised sensitive data of 148 million people.
Too bad for all those bankers who make a living bleeding the most vulnerable Americans dry. But we can’t say its not deserved or well-timed. They’ve gotten breaks for way too long and have a champion in the deranged rich guy who lives in the White House, who doesn’t care about anyone who isn’t wealthy. It will be nice to have someone leading the committee who is knowledgeable and unafraid of Wall Street, and wants to enact policies that protect people instead of harming them.
On Wednesday, Waters announces her priorities for the committee. They will include homelessness and housing affordability.
She is also deeply concerned about those poor people who rely on housing assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development—especially because their program funding is impacted due to the government shutdown. It’s a good thing too, because it looks like she’s doing Ben Carson’s job for him. Waters wants to make housing affordable for low-income families in public housing. Meanwhile, Carson has “proposed raising the amount that low-income families are expected to pay for rent – tripling it for the poorest households – as well as making it easier for property owners to demand work requirements for those receiving federal housing subsidies.”
Everything about this administration is grotesque and about harming the people who need help the most. And that’s exactly why we need Auntie Maxine. She’s not only smart and competent but also an excellent multitasker. We know she’ll spend the next two years going after Donald Trump (if he makes it that long) and Wall Street, but she’ll be looking out for the poor, too.