News Coverage
NBC News: Democrats demand answers from Trump pick Mehmet Oz on 'Medicare privatization'
Key Democratic senators are demanding answers from Mehmet Oz on his "previous advocacy for Medicare privatization," referring to his call in 2020 for putting all seniors into private insurance plans under Medicare Advantage. They're seeking clarity from the physician and TV personality known as "Dr. Oz" in a letter Tuesday, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., after President-elect Donald Trump picked him to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). "In the wake of that … Continue Reading
December 10, 2024
The 19th: Democrats push to protect the data privacy of people seeking abortions
Democrats at the federal and state levels are pushing to pass bills protecting sensitive reproductive health data before Republicans take control of key legislative chambers. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts plans on Tuesday to reintroduce legislation that would put guardrails on the largely unregulated industry buying and selling consumer data, her office shared first with The 19th. The bill, the Health and Location Data Protection Act, would ban data brokers — an estimated … Continue Reading
December 09, 2024
Boston Globe: Cancellation of kids’ asthma med continues to cause turmoil for Mass. families
Massachusetts families are still struggling to find alternatives almost a year after GlaxoSmithKline canceled a widely prescribed children’s asthma medication, a problem given renewed urgency as flu and respiratory virus season sets in. Flovent HFA, GSK’s brand name for its discontinued inhaler, hasn’t been available since December 2023 when, in response to new federal price limits, the company introduced an essentially identical authorized generic version. The company stated the move was … Continue Reading
December 05, 2024
Washington Post: These senators want to break Big Tech’s hold on AI, cloud contracts
An unlikely Senate duo is pushing to loosen the grip that tech giants such as Google and Amazon have over defense contracting in cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) are introducing a bill on Thursday requiring the Defense Department to ensure there is a "competitive award process" - which they say is currently lacking - when it doles out contracts for advanced AI models, the cloud and data infrastructure. It … Continue Reading
December 04, 2024
Bloomberg Law: Elizabeth Warren Seeks Crackdown on 'Two-Step' Bankruptcy Move
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will reintroduce legislation to rein in a controversial bankruptcy maneuver and prevent nonbankrupt entities from using Chapter 11 to skirt liability. Warren plans to introduce on Wednesday the Nondebtor Release Prohibition Act of 2024. The bill would prohibit nonconsensual litigation shields in bankruptcy plans for people and entities that aren't bankrupt, codifying what the high court banned in its 5-4 decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma. The justices … Continue Reading
December 02, 2024
HuffPost: Top Democrat Signals Possible Support For One Of Trump's Nominees
A top Democrat and critic of Donald Trump says she might be willing to throw her support behind the president-elect’s choice for labor secretary, a sign of how one Trump nominee could scramble the usual political lines in the Senate confirmation process. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told HuffPost it’s a “big deal” that Trump’s pick to lead the Labor Department, outgoing GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Oregon), endorsed the pro-union legislation known as the Protecting the Right to Organize … Continue Reading
December 02, 2024
NBC News: Democratic senators urge Biden to try to limit Trump's ability to use the U.S. military domestically
Two Democratic senators are urging the Biden administration to issue a policy directive that could temporarily limit President-elect Donald Trump's ability to deploy U.S. military troops domestically after he takes office. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., both members of the Armed Services Committee, sent a letter dated Nov. 26 to President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that urged them to issue a policy directive that would ensure that U.S. … Continue Reading
November 26, 2024
Rolling Stone: Dems Call on Biden to Limit Weed Prosecutions Before Trump Takes Over
A coalition of Democratic senators and representatives are calling on the Biden administration to finalize its plans to limit marijuana prosecutions at the federal level before he leaves office. In a Tuesday letter drafted by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), legislators wrote that the simple descheduling of marijuana “will not end federal criminalization, resolve its harms, or meaningfully address the gap between federal and state cannabis policy. … Continue Reading
November 26, 2024
Associated Press: Osprey ferrying White House staff in New York grounded after witness reports flames
An Osprey being used to ferry White House staff and government officials from an event in New York on Monday was grounded due to a safety concern, with one witness reporting flames under the right engine. The staff and officials were removed from the aircraft, part of the Marine Corps HMX-1 presidential helicopter fleet, and transferred to a second Osprey to continue their trip accompanying President Joe Biden at a "Friendsgiving" event with members of the U.S. Coast Guard in Staten … Continue Reading
November 25, 2024
HuffPost: Elizabeth Warren Warns Trump Nominee: Hands Off The Fed
The soon-to-be top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee cautioned Scott Bessent, Donald Trump’s pick to be the next treasury secretary, to respect the Federal Reserve’s policy independence. “I have been a fierce critic of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s extreme interest rate hikes and lack of transparency, but I have never questioned that it is his job to make those decisions. It would be a serious error for the Trump administration to interfere with the Fed’s independence, as Mr. Bessent has … Continue Reading
November 22, 2024
Wired: Elizabeth Warren Calls for Crackdown on Internet ‘Monopoly’ You’ve Never Heard Of
US senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and congressman Jerry Nadler of New York have called on government bodies to investigate what they allege is the “predatory pricing” of .com web addresses, the internet’s prime real estate. In a letter delivered today to the Department of Justice and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a branch of the Department of Commerce that advises the president, the two Democrats accuse VeriSign, the company that administers the … Continue Reading
November 22, 2024
The Guardian: Warren says Trump’s ‘unprecedented’ actions during transition risk security
Donald Trump’s refusal to cooperate with the outgoing Biden administration is putting national security at risk and weakening safeguards against corruption, the US senator Elizabeth Warren has warned. The president-elect has broken from precedent by refusing to sign memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the current White House team and failing to release a comprehensive ethics plan. On Thursday, Warren, a Democratic senator for Massachusetts, wrote to the General Services Administration … Continue Reading
November 21, 2024
Bloomberg Law: Fed, OCC Should Reject Capital One, Discover Deal, Democrats Say
The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency should reject Capital One Financial Corp.’s proposed acquisition of Discover Financial Services, Congressional Democrats including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren told Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu in a letter. “Capital One’s history of failures to meet its acquisition-related commitments, its consumer protection and BSA/AML violations, and its aggressive … Continue Reading
November 21, 2024
The Hill: Warren, Kim bill requires nat sec nominees to disclose foreign government work
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen.-elect Andy Kim (D-N.J.) are joining forces on a bill that would require several presidential nominees working on national security issues to publicly disclose past work for foreign governments. The bill, introduced in both chambers Thursday, would require Senate-confirmed leaders at the Departments of Defense, State, and Treasury, as well as leaders of all 18 intelligence agencies, to publicly share whether they've done any work for a foreign … Continue Reading
November 20, 2024
Reuters: Senator Warren urges Fed to keep Wells Fargo asset cap
The Federal Reserve must not remove Wells Fargo's (WFC.N), opens new tab $1.95 trillion asset cap until the bank has fixed its risk management and compliance issues, top Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren told the U.S. central bank on Wednesday. In a letter to Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the central bank's regulatory chief, Michael Barr, Warren said the Fed must reject Wells Fargo reported appeal to have the punishment imposed in 2018 lifted until it "can show that it can properly manage the … Continue Reading
November 19, 2024
Boston Globe: How a famous candy company is giving pet owners a stomachache
My latest vet bill? A staggering $1,250. Last week, I took my 11-year-old dog to a specialist for a follow-up consultation at a local clinic that’s part of a network of specialty and emergency veterinary hospitals across the United States. The vet ordered several lab tests, including a routine profile to check various chemicals and enzymes, a complete blood count, and a digestive panel. It all made sense, considering my senior dog’s irritable bowel disease diagnosis a couple of years ago. … Continue Reading
November 14, 2024
MassLive: Mass. lawmakers want ‘under oath’ answers from new owner of Steward‘s physician network
Ahead of a Beacon Hill hearing, a pair of Massachusetts lawmakers have called on a state oversight panel to ask some tough questions of the company that‘s taken over the physicians’ network formerly owned by bankrupt Steward Health Care. Benson Sloan, the CEO of the private-equity-owned Rural Healthcare Group, is slated to testify Thursday before the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. In a three-page letter obtained exclusively by MassLive, Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked … Continue Reading
November 07, 2024
TIME: Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Here's the Plan to Fight Back
To everyone who feels like their heart has been ripped out of their chest, I feel the same. To everyone who is afraid of what happens next, I share your fears. But what we do next is important, and I need you in this fight with me. As we confront a second Donald Trump presidency, we have two tasks ahead. First, try to learn from what happened. And then, make a plan. Many political experts and D.C. insiders are already blaming President Joe Biden’s economic agenda for Vice President Kamala … Continue Reading
November 04, 2024
NBC News: Top Democrats take another swipe at grocery prices as Election Day nears
Two Democratic lawmakers are urging an investigation of grocery stores that they say might be overcharging customers. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., sent a letter, seen by NBC News, to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Agriculture on Sunday, calling on the agencies to investigate whether “major grocery chains may be making false and misleading representations regarding food sold by weight, leading to customers paying more for groceries than … Continue Reading
October 31, 2024
Boston Herald: Elizabeth Warren’s office: Biden-Harris and Congressional Dems saved 1.4 million union pensions
The Biden-Harris Administration and Congressional Democrats saved the pensions of more than a million union members, many of which could have become insolvent in the coming year, according to a new report out of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office. Titled “Promises Made, Promises Kept,” the report explains how system shockwaves that started with the 2008 financial crisis were compounded by corporate bankruptcies, congressional inaction, and fund mismanagement, and were putting multiemployer … Continue Reading