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As Democrats reel from defeat, Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts progressive, preaches focus and accountability.
Jan. 31, 2025, 1:32 p.m. ET
For the last decade, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has been a favorite foil of President Trump, who has subjected her to persistent name-calling and taunting as he tried to make the progressive Democrat the face of the “radical left.”
But with Mr. Trump back in the White House and Democrats reeling from the rejection of the Biden administration’s economic agenda, Ms. Warren is forging a new strategy for the second Trump era. She is looking for areas of potential collaboration with a Republican president who has succeeded in taking the mantle of economic populism from Democrats.
“I have to say I’m looking forward to this,” Ms. Warren said in an interview in her office this month before Mr. Trump’s inauguration. “Trump has said enough about the things he wants to do for working people, that if he can push his Republicans to follow through on that, and we will push our Democrats, we can actually make some changes that will help a lot of families.”
Despite that conciliatory tone, Ms. Warren demonstrated during Mr. Trump’s first weeks in office that she is not fully embracing his administration.
This week, Ms. Warren sent a letter to Howard Lutnick, Mr. Trump’s pick to be commerce secretary, scrutinizing him over his ties to a cryptocurrency firm with a record of illicit activity. She also pressed Mr. Trump’s Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, on whether he avoided paying taxes while running his hedge fund.
After Mr. Trump’s budget office issued a temporary freeze on federal funding, Ms. Warren said, “We do not consent to this lawless power grab.”
