Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren may not be running for the White House next year, but her influence in the Democratic party appears only to be rising, thanks to the left-leaning side of the party which has embraced her unabashedly liberal point of view.
The Un-Candidate: Elizabeth Warren on Hillary, the Presidency and Tech
Elizabeth Warren talks about consumer protection, trade and more at the Code Conference.
Asa Mathat for Re/code
Why are you not running for president, Warren was asked Tuesday night during an interview with Re/code co-founders Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher.
“I have a full-time job,” Warren responded.
Could you beat Hillary?
That’s not something I put energy into, she answered.
In response to the 2008 financial crisis, Warren, a former Harvard Law professor, was tapped by the White House to set up the Consumer Financial Protection Board to ensure consumers are better protected from large financial institutions.
During the interview she talked about the difficulties in setting the agency up as Wall Street mobilized an army of lobbyists to kill the agency. They failed, but they did manage to keep Warren from mustering enough Republican support to get confirmed to lead the agency.
She ran for the Senate instead, easily beating incumbent Republican Scott Brown in 2012.
Since then, she has cut a high-profile path for herself in the Senate, amassing far more influence than a typical freshman, thanks to her willingness to embrace issues dear to the hearts of progressive Democrats.
She continues to be one of Wall Street’s most hated members of Congress for her consumer-protection advocacy efforts. Last week, for instance, she suggested the Labor Department investigate whether banks that recently agreed to pay a $5 billion fine to settle charges of manipulating foreign currency markets should be allowed to manage consumer retirement accounts.
She also drew criticism recently from President Obama for her fierce opposition to a trade bill sought by corporate America. “This is not personal for me. This is the same work I’ve been doing all along,” she responded during the interview, after being questioned about the rift with the president over trade issues.
“We disagree on this. I don’t take this personally but I fight for what I believe in,” she said.
Below, you’ll find a liveblog of the entire interview.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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