Ahead of Committee Vote, Warren Releases Troubling Responses from Trump Nominees
Text of Atkins response (PDF) | Text of Gould response (PDF) | Text of Petit response (PDF) | Text of Molinaro response (PDF)
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, released responses from President Donald Trump’s nominees to the Questions for the Record (QFRs) she submitted ahead of their respective confirmation hearings on March 27, 2025. Many of the responses raised more questions than they answered. Today the Banking Committee will meet in executive session to vote on the nominations.
SEC Chair Nominee Paul Atkins
Ranking Member Warren’s questions to Paul Atkins, President Trump’s nominee for Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), covered topics including his poor judgment in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis, his ties to Project 2025, and the independence of the SEC from the President’s influence. In his response, Mr. Atkins doubled down on his deregulatory, extreme views. He also failed to substantively answer critical questions, including about how the SEC would manage the conflicts of interest inherent in matters involving digital assets owned by the Trump family, raising questions about corrupt deals. See Atkins’s full response HERE.
OCC Comptroller Nominee Jonathan Gould
Ranking Member Warren’s questions to Jonathan Gould, President Trump’s nominee for Comptroller of the Currency, focused on deregulation during his last tenure at the agency, which weakened safeguards for big banks and led to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th largest bank failures in U.S. history in 2023 when First Republic, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank collapsed. Mr. Gould flatly denied that loosening the guardrails on these big banks during the Trump administration played any role in the failures. This deregulatory gaslighting raises serious alarm bells about his fitness for this key role regulating our financial system. See Gould’s full response HERE.
Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Luke Pettit
Ranking Member Warren’s questions to Luke Pettit, President Trump’s nominee for Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Treasury Department, focused on the role of regulation in our financial system, regulation of digital assets, and the causes of the 2008 financial crisis. Mr. Pettit’s response that Silicon Valley Bank’s failure was “a managerial and supervisory failure, not a regulatory or legislative one” contradicts clear evidence. His stock answers suggest he will not be an independent voice within the Treasury Department fighting for strong consumer protection and financial stability oversight. See Pettit’s full response HERE.
FTA Administrator Nominee Marc Molinaro
Ranking Member Warren’s questions to Marc Molinaro, President Trump’s nominee for Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), focused on how Mr. Molinaro intends to carry out FTA grant assistance programs for public transportation, develop policy, undertake safety oversight and support FTA career employees, if confirmed. See Molinaro’s full response HERE.
###
Next Article Previous Article