In a heated back and forth exchange between Prof. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) during a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Rep. McHenry was pointed out as having accused Prof. Warren of lying. (See video below.)
In referring to the scheduling of the hearing and a delay in allowing Warren to step down from the witness stand, Warren said they had an agreement about the time the hearing would end. “You’re making this up, Ms. Warren,” Rep. McHenry replied.
The exchange comes at a time when Warren, who is charged with setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has been widely criticized by House Republicans who have publicly stated they will not support her nomination as the Bureau’s chief, should President Obama decide to nominate her.
In defending the Bureau against “false claims” before the House of Representatives, according to prepared remarks, Warren said Tuesday, “I have been told that if you say anything in Washington often enough, it is eventually treated as fact—regardless of whether it is true or false,” she said. “While making baseless claims might be shrewd tactics for those who want to undermine the Bureau’s work, they are flatly wrong.”
Further, Warren said, “False claims about CFPB’s power also ignore the structural oversight and accountability that limit the reach of the CFPB. Warren outlined several forms of oversight of the agency, such as being the only bank regulator whose rules can be overruled by a council made up of other federal agencies, and the only bank regulator that is expressly limited in its ability to determine its own funding levels.one, and, so long as it has the tools, the CFPB will be that agency.”
View Warren’s remarks.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
