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elizabeth warren
Warren Lays Out How Democrats Can Deliver for the Working Class—Even With Trump in the White House
"Democrats won this election by claiming we are on the side of working people, and working people are counting on us to deliver."
Nov 05, 2026
"Americans need Democrats to deliver now, not in two years."
That was US Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) post-election message to her fellow congressional Democrats on Thursday as she outlined how the party can use its impending control of the House and Senate to deliver real gains for the working class—even with corrupt billionaire President Donald Trump in the White House.
In an op-ed for TIME, Warren argued Democrats succeeded in midterm contests across the country "by being populist economic fighters who were unafraid to call out the corrupt politicians and corporate interests who have rigged the system at the expense of everyone else."
"Now, Democrats must deliver," the progressive senator wrote, urging her party to push Trump to live up to his vow to work with Democrats in the new Congress. "We should force him to do that on the affordability and corruption issues that drove this election—or call his bluff."
Warren laid out what she views as top priorities for the new Democratic majority, including: Ending Trump's illegal war in Iran, cutting costs for working families, moving to cancel Trump-GOP cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance, reversing Trump's tax cuts for the rich, and holding "Big Tech CEOs, Wall Street executives, and giant corporations" accountable for "ripping off the American people to make themselves richer."
The senator expressed openness to working with Republicans but wrote that Democrats must be willing to use the filibuster-proof reconciliation process—or eliminate the Senate's 60-vote filibuster entirely—to advance an ambitious agenda.
But what if Trump decides to wield his veto power against Democratic legislation, as he has suggested he could do?
Warren argued that Democrats must "test that out by passing legislation the American people support to make life more affordable and our government less corrupt."
"It would be a breach of faith with the people from South Carolina to Texas, who voted for us to address costs and corruption, to spend the next two years waiting for some future Democratic trifecta to hopefully deliver meaningful change," Warren wrote. "Democrats won this election by claiming we are on the side of working people, and working people are counting on us to deliver."
Another leading progressive in the Senate Democratic caucus, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), similarly argued that Democrats' historic midterm wins were "important," but "not enough."
"The American people want change. Real change. And the midterm election confirms just that," Sanders said in a video message, pointing to the urgent need to address out-of-control income and wealth inequality, the starvation-level federal minimum wage, unfettered artificial intelligence, the corrupt campaign finance system, the broken for-profit healthcare system, and more.
The solutions to those crises, he argued, "are not radical," pointing to broad public support for Medicare for All, expanding Social Security, and other progressive proposals.
"What we are talking about now is not only the need to fight for economic justice," said Sanders. "We are fighting to give hope to the American people—to allow them to understand that their government can work for them, can address the crises that they face, and will pay attention to the needs of the men, women and children in our country who are struggling, and not just the very, very wealthy campaign contributors."
"That is, in my view, what Democrats have got to do when they assume power in January," he added. "We can do it. We must do it."
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Ahead of Anthropic IPO, Warren Warns AI Giant Could Leave 'Americans Holding the Bag'
"Anthropic is saying that AI models could pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity. At the same time, Anthropic is planning the largest IPO in history."
Oct 28, 2026
As the artificial intelligence company Anthropic moves toward a historic initial public offering, the top Democrat on the US Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee sounded the alarm about both public safety and financial concerns in a Tuesday letter to CEO Dario Amodei.
"I write with concern following your company's disclosure that Anthropic's advanced AI models could 'pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity' at the same time that it seeks to register as a public company and sell shares in November," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
"Anthropic disclosed extensive public safety and financial risks to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of its registration process for an initial public offering (IPO)," she noted. "An IPO would provide Anthropic with broader access to the largest capital markets in the world, allowing it to raise more funding from a larger pool of investors to fuel its rapid growth."
"It will also mean that millions of Americans with retirement accounts invested in index funds will quickly become Anthropic shareholders," stressed the former Harvard University bankruptcy professor. "Public pensions are already heavily exposed to Anthropic and have expressed their concerns about Anthropic's societal risks ahead of its IPO."
According to the SEC paperwork, Anthropic plans to list on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol "ANT." Reports have suggested the company—known for its Claude models—could be valued at between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion. As NPR noted: "That would put it in league with Elon Musk's rocketry and AI company SpaceX, which was valued at around $1.8 trillion when it listed in June."
Warren pointed out to Amodei that "this massive influx of public capital is likely to catapult the development and deployment of your technology during a time of intense public debate and concern about the risks of your frontier intelligence models."
The senator argued that "the risks presented by this technology demand greater scrutiny before they become intertwined with the public capital markets, which could further escalate both public safety and systemic financial risks."
The "growing public safety concerns" section of Warren's letter cites details from the Form S-1 that Anthropic submitted to the SEC, as well as the CEO's public statements "calling for the need to slow down the development of frontier AI models."
"You warned that 'we still only understand a tiny fraction of what goes on inside these models' and highlighted the 'risk of losing control of AI systems, misuse of AI for cyberattacks and bioterrorism, and serious economic disruption,'" she reminded Amodei. "You further warned that a 'race to the bottom, spurred by commercial incentives, can make these risks more acute.'"
"It is also difficult to trust existing safety tests and evaluations of model test environments in the wake of recent incidents in which models built by frontier AI companies, including Anthropic, have broken through security controls and hacked external systems autonomously," the senator emphasized.
Such incidents have intensified AI experts' warnings and spurred calls for government action, leading to a range of legislative proposals, including in the US Congress—the future control of which will be decided in next week's midterm elections.
Warren highlighted that "in addition to the potentially catastrophic safety risks posed by Anthropic's technology, the company's launch into the public markets could inject extreme volatility and risk into the financial system, which threatens to undermine Americans' economic security."
"Anthropic is projected to be the largest IPO in history," she wrote. "Given its unprecedented size, swings in Anthropic's share price have the potential to roil the broader markets on day one, particularly for companies in the technology sector, and even more acutely for megacap companies with direct financial entanglement with Anthropic."
"Beyond the threats to the financial system that Anthropic's IPO may pose, the company's registration statement disclosures include astronomical projections supported by aggressive assumptions that require further review and due diligence," she added, digging into the company's disclosures.
Warren also sent Amodei a detailed list of questions she wants answered by November 3—before the company goes public.
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'Hunger Disaster Unrolling Before Our Eyes': Alarm Grows Over Trump Food Aid Evisceration
“SNAP participation is falling because the Trump administration has intentionally kicked people off of the program—leaving Americans hungry and still struggling to afford food,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Oct 23, 2026
An analysis published Thursday showed that millions of Americans have lost critical food assistance since President Donald Trump signed last year's massive Republican tax giveaway for the superrich, with soaring grocery prices and cuts to school meals exacerbating the crisis.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), approximately 5.5 million people, including roughly 2 million children, have lost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) assistance since Trump signed the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in July 2025.
The legislation approved the deepest cuts to SNAP—also known as food stamps—and Medicaid in those programs' histories while slashing billions of dollars from other essential social programs to fund massive tax breaks for billionaires and corporations.
This, at a time when more than 47 million Americans—including 1 in 5 US children—are living in food-insecure households.
The 5.5 million people who have lost SNAP represent 13% of the program's recipients, according to CBPP. The decline is far below projections made by the Congressional Budget Office.
"The declines are especially pronounced in some states," the report noted. "SNAP participation fell in Arizona by nearly 51%... The caseload declines are 20% or more in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, and Oklahoma, and—using more recent state data—in Indiana, Kansas, and Texas."
In absolute numbers, Texas saw the biggest loss of SNAP recipients, with 709,435 fewer enrollees. Florida lost 665,935 SNAP enrollees, while Arizona had 408,204 fewer and California lost 333,062.
The CBPP report follows an analysis released Tuesday by Unrig Our Economy and Americans for Tax Fairness that showed how Latino SNAP recipients have been disproportionately affected by food stamp cuts. The groups estimated that 1.5 million Latinos have been kicked off SNAP since Trump signed the OBBBA, with Texas (396,164) and Arizona (200,124) hardest-hit.
More cuts are highly likely, as "starting in October 2027, most states will have to pay between 5-15% of SNAP benefit costs, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars a year in many states," according to CBPP.
"The magnitude of the cost shift and the urgency surrounding error rates incentivized states to take drastic measures to reduce their payment error rates quickly and cut program costs, even if it meant delaying or improperly denying benefits to eligible people," the analysis warns.
The OBBBA's SNAP cuts, combined with stricter eligibility requirements, have forced schools across the country to scale back universal free meal programs amid declining federal reimbursements.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that school districts are experiencing ballooning unpaid lunch bills and struggling to ensure children are fed. In rural Indiana, one district’s share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals plunged from 66% to 44% in a year, while its lunch debt has already reached $10,000. In San Antonio, Texas, the number of schools offering free meals to every student under a federal program fell from 48 to 16. Nationwide, the average number of children receiving free school lunches dropped by 600,000 between fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
Making matters worse, many eligible immigrants are not applying for SNAP benefits out of fear it could affect their citizenship prospects.
Food banks and other charities are having to meet needs the government once addressed.
“It’s been getting out of control since last year,” Paco Vélez, president and chief executive of the Feeding South Florida food bank, told the Post. “It’s all created a situation where families are needing more and more assistance.”
The CBPP and Post reports came on the same day as a "Food Misery Index," published by the office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), offered a detailed view of how the combined impact of SNAP cuts and skyrocketing grocery prices—exacerbated by Trump policies including tariffs, the deadly immigration crackdown, and the illegal war of choice on Iran—"has stripped more than $22 billion from American families since July 2025."
“SNAP participation is falling because the Trump administration has intentionally kicked people off of the program—leaving Americans hungry and still struggling to afford food,” Warren wrote Wednesday in a letter to US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
“Instead of reaching for tools to mitigate these threats to families and working to bring down costs, the administration continues to sit idly by, peddling false narratives about the drop in SNAP participation, while delivering a one-two punch to American families who are struggling to put food on their tables," the senator continued.
"With grocery prices and food insecurity on the rise," Warren added, "I urge the administration to work with Congress to immediately reverse its harmful cuts to SNAP."
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Senate Democrats Demand Public Release of Pentagon's Secret Data Detailing Costs of Iran War
"Congress and the public need this information to determine the steps necessary to recover from this debacle," the lawmakers wrote.
Oct 19, 2026
Democrats on the US Senate Armed Services Committee called on the Pentagon on Monday to reveal how much President Donald Trump's Iran War is costing American taxpayers, citing "ongoing efforts to hide the true cost."
US Central Command (CENTCOM) told Congress that the war had cost $43.6 billion as of September 3. But in Monday's letter, Democratic lawmakers noted that this figure excluded the cost of damage caused by Iranian attacks on US bases and other facilities in the region. That estimate remains classified, but lawmakers have seen it.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led the letter, which was also signed by Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.). They called on CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper to release the estimate publicly.
"There is no rationale for classifying that cost estimate," the lawmakers wrote. "Our allies and our adversaries are, unfortunately, keenly aware of the extraordinary toll that this reckless war has taken on military readiness, and Congress and the public need this information to determine the steps necessary to recover from this debacle."
Iranian strikes have damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases across eight Middle Eastern countries, according to a report released in September by the Pentagon's inspector general.
“Despite a lack of clarity and candor from [the Department of Defense], press reports of attacks, video footage, satellite images, and photos leaked to the media by active US service members have painted a dire picture of US bases and facilities damaged and destroyed by Iran,” the lawmakers wrote.
US officials and congressional aides have previously said the damage was far more extensive than the administration had publicly acknowledged and was expected to cost billions of dollars to repair.
More than 50,000 US troops have been deployed to support the Iran War. At least 23 US service members have died, and another 865 have been injured since Trump launched the war. The Pentagon has repeatedly failed to disclose casualties from the war, including dozens of troops injured in Iranian strikes, while moving other casualties out of its official Iran War tally.
At least 1,700 Iranian civilians have also been killed, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Iran's Health Ministry reported that more than 26,500 people were injured in the war's first 40 days. HRANA has reported more than 2,200 children injured.
Since the war began in late February, independent analysts have argued that the Pentagon has presented an incomplete picture of the war's costs.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies projected that the war had already cost roughly $40 billion by June, including an estimated $4 billion to $9.4 billion to repair and rebuild damaged US bases. At that time, the Pentagon's most recent public tally was just $29 billion, issued the previous month.
In May, Stephen Semler of the Center for International Policy argued that the Pentagon was also overlooking other critical war costs—underestimating the expense of replacing weapons and repairing bases, and ignoring spending outside the Pentagon, including military aid to Israel, which has joined the US in bombing Iran.
Accounting for those expenses, Semler estimated that the war had cost nearly $72 billion in just its first 60 days—about three times the Pentagon's estimate at the time.
Americans are also paying for the war beyond government spending. Last week, Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi estimated that the war had cost the average US household nearly $2,000—including $1,100 in higher energy prices, $540 in higher interest rates, and $360 in military costs.
Urging the military to respond to the letter, Warren said on Monday that “Americans deserve to know how much of their money is being burned on Trump’s war with Iran.”
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'Illegitimate Show Trial': Warren Condemns Trump's Latest Attack on Fed Gov. Lisa Cook
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said President Donald Trump's formation of a committee to investigate cook is part of his "dangerous quest to illegally take over our nation’s central bank."
Oct 09, 2026
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said Friday that President Donald Trump's formation of a new committee to investigate Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook amounts to "an illegitimate show trial in his dangerous quest to illegally take over our nation’s central bank."
"Instead of playing judge in a kangaroo court of his own making, Trump should end the war in Iran and cancel his chaotic tariffs," Warren (D-Mass.) said after the White House announced a "committee of inquiry" to investigate allegations that Cook "made false statements in connection with one or more mortgage instruments." Cook, a frequent target of the president's, has denied the White House's repeated accusations that she committed mortgage fraud.
The White House said that the new committee—which will consist of three officials including Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett and the Trump-appointed acting director of the Office of Government Ethics—will hold an in-person hearing at the White House on November 5 to "consider the evidence and allegations against Gov. Cook."
In a Friday statement, Cook's lawyers said they "have grave doubts that this 'hearing' is a legitimate one that would conform to the law."
"If it is anything close to objective, the conclusion will be that Gov. Cook did not commit mortgage fraud," said Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen. "We have engaged with the White House to evaluate whether the process proposed has a possibility of being a genuine one and not simply a box-checking exercise."
Trump attempted to fire Cook last year but was rebuffed by the US Supreme Court after the Fed governor took legal action to prevent her removal. Under federal law, the president can only remove members of the Fed Board of Governors "for cause."
Critics argue that the Trump administration has concocted baseless mortgage fraud allegations against Cook to justify a politically motivated termination.
"Trump is escalating his smear campaign against Lisa Cook while turning the presidency into a personal ATM: crypto schemes, taxpayer-funded propaganda ads, cash for his family—the list could go on forever," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Friday. "This has nothing to do with 'ethical concerns.' It’s about Trump trying to seize control of the Fed, something that would mean even more economic chaos for American families."
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Warren's Trump Inflation Tracker Reveals Pain Caused by 'Failed Economic Agenda' of GOP
"Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one. Instead, he has spent his presidency creating an affordability crisis, and now he's calling his self-made crisis a hoax."
Oct 07, 2026
With the US midterm elections just weeks away and control of Congress up for grabs, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on Wednesday released a tool tracking inflation under Republican President Donald Trump.
"Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one. Instead, he has spent his presidency creating an affordability crisis, and now he's calling his self-made crisis a hoax," said Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in a statement. "The Trumpflation Tracker will show families across the country exactly how much of a price they are paying for Trump's and Republicans' failed economic agenda."
The tracker shows not only cumulative inflation since December 2024, the month before Trump returned to office—it's up 5.2%— but also limited job growth during his second term, the impact of his broken promise to cap credit card interest rates, falling wages since he launched an illegal war on Iran in February, mortgage rate increases, and rising household debt.
The tool also highlights the country's affordability crisis, detailing how costs have skyrocketed for childcare, electricity, gasoline, groceries, healthcare, and rent, with the average US household paying over $3,000 more.
As Trump rallies behind efforts to build more energy-sucking artificial intelligence data centers, Warren's tracker shows that residential electricity prices are up 12.7% during this term, with the average US household paying $222 more.
Last year, congressional Republicans passed and Trump signed a budget package that cut government healthcare programs and did not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. Now, per the new tool, healthcare costs are up 14.6%.
Prices for gas and diesel have skyrocketed since Trump and the Israeli military started bombing Iran, but the US president has dismissed concerns, claiming that paying $4 at the pump is "not very high" and is worthwhile to prevent the Middle Eastern nation from building a nuclear weapon—which the US intelligence community concluded, before the war, that Tehran wasn't trying to do.
Warren's tracker puts the gas surge at 43.7% since December 2024, with an average cost of over $750 per household. The senator plans to have the panel's economic experts update the figures on a monthly basis, as more data becomes available.
The Century Foundation's president, Julie Margetta Morgan, applauded the committee "for doing the math on this," writing on social media that "the Trump administration continues to claim that the economy is strong, but this tracker shows clearly just how much families are being squeezed."
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Warren and Fetterman: A Tale of Two Bipartisans
In contrast with Sen. John Fetterman's (D-Pa.) contrarian grandstanding, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has spent the last two years (and more) showing Democrats that it’s possible to reach across the aisle without losing your soul.
Sep 19, 2026
Democrats’ chances of taking back the Senate look better than ever, but even if November brings a blue wave, they will still not have control of the legislative and executive branches simultaneously until at least 2029.
The question facing Democratic lawmakers now is how they should conduct themselves during these wilderness years if they want to regain a trifecta in the next presidential election.
Voting down any idea the White House or GOP leadership propose without suggesting any alternative is a bad idea. More than three-quarters of Americans say they want more bipartisanship in Washington, and voters often punish opposition parties they view as do-nothing obstructionists.
Fetterman, take notes: When you vote with Republicans, do it to help working-class families buy homes, not to make sure gas prices keep going up.
But when we say Democrats should be more bipartisan, it’s important to specify what we mean. This moment has provided exemplars of two very different kinds of aisle crossing, which I’ll refer to as John Fetterman Bipartisanship and Elizabeth Warren Bipartisanship.
Sen. Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) bipartisanship is largely performative. He’s constantly appearing on Fox News to scold his fellow Democrats for calling President Donald Trump a fascist, denounce democratic socialism, defend Israel’s devastation of Gaza, or praise the giant monument to Trump’s ego that is the White House ballroom.
And when it’s not performative, it’s actively harmful. Fetterman voted to confirm disastrous Trump appointees like former Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem—both of whom turned out to be too incompetent even for this administration. He voted against war powers resolutions that could have hastened the end of the costly and unnecessary conflict with Iran. He voted to end last year’s government shutdown, throwing away leverage Democrats could have used to keep healthcare affordable for millions of families. And he voted to keep funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement after agents murdered two Americans in the streets.
It’s a voting record defined by cruelty, contrarianism, and pettiness. In his home state of Pennsylvania, Republicans have rewarded him with a near 80% approval rating, and Trump is actively courting him to switch parties.
Whether he does or not, Fetterman has already betrayed the people who elected him and undermined the party whose donors and campaign arm spent over $100 million on his Senate race.
Thankfully, Fetterman Bipartisanship is not the only alternative to blind obstructionism. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has spent the last two years (and more) showing Democrats that it’s possible to reach across the aisle without losing your soul.
Last month, Warren signed a letter to the CEOs of Midwest Real Estate Data—a multiple listing service (MLS) that serves as a database for property listings in the Chicago area—and Compass, the country’s largest brokerage firm. The two had signed an agreement that hides certain listings from members of the public and makes them available only to brokers who pay a subscription fee. This practice, Warren warned, will create a “two-tiered housing market” that benefits insiders while driving up prices for regular people who have to compete for a smaller pool of homes.
Warren wasn’t the first to raise the alarm about this corrupt bargain. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) beat her to it by about two weeks. But instead of treating the MRED-Compass deal as a toxic GOP issue, Warren threw her weight behind the probe to stop corporate greed from making homeownership even more prohibitively expensive.
And speaking of affordable housing, she also co-sponsored the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act—the most consequential federal housing legislation in 30 years. This bill cuts red tape to make home construction cheaper and easier, rewards jurisdictions that build more housing, and bans private equity from buying up homes that should go to families. And as an added bonus, Trump was too focused on disenfranchising minorities to be bothered to sign the thing. It became law without his signature, but his total lack of interest makes it easy for Democrats to claim the legislation as their win.
Fetterman, take notes: When you vote with Republicans, do it to help working-class families buy homes, not to make sure gas prices keep going up.
Warren also joined Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to co-sponsor the Break Up Big Medicine Act and co-authored an op-ed with Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) calling for a tax increase on the wealthy to save Social Security.
Even if these proposals never become law, they provide Democrats with a powerful argument for 2028: “We’ve been proposing solutions all along. We even tried to work with reasonable Republicans. It’s not our fault they failed, and if you vote for us, they won’t fail again.”
Calling Trump a Nazi or a threat to democracy is a great way to fire up the base, but independents are tired of hearing it. They want to know what Democrats will do to make their groceries, health insurance premiums, day care bills, mortgages, and gas station trips more affordable. We won’t win them over by parroting stale Fox News talking points, but if we can show that we care more about affordability than about partisan bickering, we might just pull it off.
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Progressive Lawmakers Introduce Bill to 'Get Wall Street Out' of Medical Offices Across US
"Doctors should be able to do what's best for their patients, not what's best for some wealthy investor."
Sep 16, 2026
Thanks to legislation passed in Oregon last year, physicians in the state have stopped corporate takeovers of medical practices—and six Democratic members of Congress on Wednesday introduced a bill to replicate the state law nationwide, arguing, as Sen. Elizabeth Warren said, that "patients want to know that decisions about their health are being made by their doctors, not by Wall Street investors."
The Massachusetts Democrat was joined by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), along with Reps. Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) in introducing the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act.
The bill would ban the corporate practice of medicine by making it illegal for private equity funds, insurance companies, and other for-profit corporations to own or control medical practices—as is increasingly the case in the profit-driven US healthcare system.
Over 80% of doctors in the US are employed by corporate entities including private equity firms—up from 62% just seven years ago, according to the lawmakers.
Corporations have also exploited legal loopholes that allow them to take over medical practices, despite laws in over 30 states banning the corporate practice of medicine.
“Americans want medical decisions to stay between patients and their doctor, not dictated by corporate actors and private equity firms focused on maximizing profits,” said Wyden. “I’m proud of Oregon’s pioneering state law that has been used by doctors to protect their independence, and it’s time to take that model to the federal level. Corporate medicine is making healthcare more expensive for everyone, and safeguards must be put in place to ensure healthcare decisions stay in the hands of physicians.”
The legislation would:
- Close the “friendly physician” loophole that has allowed investor-backed corporations to evade state-level bans on the corporate practice of medicine and control medical practices through management service organizations (MSOs);
- Prohibit an MSO from controlling a medical practice through a “friendly” or “captive” physician, or by taking over business, administrative, and clinical functions such as hiring and firing, work schedules, compensation, disbursement of revenue or setting of revenue targets, billing practices, contracting, and other services;
- Ensure that physicians retain ultimate control of medical practices by requiring that physician owners are meaningfully engaged in providing medical care in the state in which their practice is located; and
- Protect physician independence by prohibiting corporate interference with clinical decisions and banning restrictive contract terms, such as noncompete agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and nondisparagement agreements.
As the lawmakers explained, MSOs contract with medical practices under the guise of handling administrative tasks.
"But these actors often challenge the autonomy of acquired physicians once in control," they said. "For example, corporate entities often assume control over clinical operations, management and staffing decisions, and billing and coding practices—all of which can exert pressure on physicians to change care delivery."
Such entities "often cut corners, leading to patients paying more for significantly worse care," said Ocasio-Cortez. “I’m proud to co-lead the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act to get Wall Street out of Americans’ doctors’ offices."
Warren added that "doctors should be able to do what's best for their patients, not what's best for some wealthy investor."
BREAKING: Today, I'm introducing a bill to BAN corporate takeovers of your doctor's office.
Doctors should be able to care for their patients without greedy private equity investors getting in the way.
Let's get this done. pic.twitter.com/e3gdamIotQ
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 16, 2026
The legislation is supported by several medical associations as well as economic justice advocates.
"A prohibition is only as strong as its enforcement, and this bill backs its corporate practice of medicine (CPOM) prohibition with three enforcement paths: the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general suing on behalf of residents, and physicians themselves through a private right of action with treble damages. That layered enforcement, paired with mandatory divestment, is what gives this bill teeth that earlier CPOM laws have often lacked,” said Dr. Marco Fernandez, president of the Association for Independent Medicine.
Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, said that the "groundbreaking legislation is absolutely needed to give health providers and patients a fighting chance against corporate greed."
"Congress must stop private equity from ripping the copper wires out of American healthcare and put patients first," said Lawson. "Social Security Works is proud to endorse this legislation."
Charles Idelson, the former communications director of National Nurses United, which advocates for Medicare for All, said the bill "would help close some, though not all, of the worst profiteering in healthcare."
"Exploiting sickness to enrich wealthy executives," said Idelson, "is obscene."
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CBO Finds Trump's Iran War Has Already Cost Nearly $40 Billion—And That's a 'Conservative' Estimate
"Trump and Republicans have spent years telling Americans that we cannot afford to help families here at home, but apparently they can find tens of billions of dollars... for a reckless war," said US Rep. Brendan Boyle.
Sep 15, 2026
President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran has already cost US taxpayers almost $40 billion, according to a report released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office.
In total, the CBO report estimates that, by the end of July, the US Department of Defense had already spent $38 billion in operational, logistical, and sustainment costs related to the war.
CBO said this estimate reflects "the costs of replacing expended munitions and equipment lost in battle, increased flying hours, other operations, and increased fuel costs" for the department, as well as the fact that "the initial, intense phase of the conflict lasted just over a month... and that relatively few US forces have been involved compared with the much larger and longer US operations."
The office pointed out that it had to rely on government databases and public reports for data because the Pentagon didn't comply with its requests for more information about the war.
The report finds that the Iran War has also drained the military of missile defense interceptors, noting that the conflict "will leave the United States with a reduced inventory of interceptors for several years."
CBO's analysis also tries to measure the macroeconomic impact of the war, and concludes that it has made goods more expensive for US consumers by drastically raising the price of energy.
"In CBO's assessment, the effects of those higher energy prices will put upward pressure on consumer prices," the report explains. "As a result, in the first quarter of 2027, inflation (measured year over year) in the price index for personal consumption expenditures (PCE) is now estimated to be 0.5 percentage points higher than... projected in February 2026."
According to the most recent estimate from Brown University’s Watson School for International Public Affairs, the Iran War has now cost nearly $107 billion in additional fuel expenses for the public, averaging more than $776 per US household.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), who requested the CBO estimate as ranking member of the House Budget Committee, ripped the Trump administration for blowing billions of dollars on an illegal war while insisting on taking an ax to the federal safety net via steep cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
"Donald Trump and Republicans have spent years telling Americans that we cannot afford to help families here at home," said Boyle, "but apparently they can find tens of billions of dollars, and potentially much more, for a reckless war that is leaving Americans to pay the price."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in a social media post that the CBO's estimate of the war's costs was likely "conservative" because it excludes "damage to US bases, destroyed munition supplies, and higher costs like gas and groceries."
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Warren Sounds Alarm Over Trump Becoming First US President Ever to 'Own and Oversee His Own Bank'
"It may be the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen."
Sep 15, 2026
After President Donald Trump and the Republican Party revealed what they called their "last, best, and final offer" of ethics restrictions for cryptocurrency regulation, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren stood on the Senate floor Monday evening with a counteroffer: the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act, whose passage she said was crucial for guarding against Trump using his very own crypto bank as a financial hub for his "web of corruption."
The GOP's "offer" on ethics pertains to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, also known as the Clarity Act, which would create a regulatory framework for the crypto market and which the Senate is expected to vote on Tuesday. The Republicans agreed to a proposal from Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), which would give state attorneys general the ability to sue if federal officials create or sponsor digital assets while holding office.
But, said Warren (D-Mass.), the proposal ensures the law "could never be enforced against Donald Trump because it gives his political appointees the power to turn off enforcement of these ethics provisions."
It also "contains major loopholes designed to allow President Trump to keep earning billions of dollars from his crypto businesses, including World Liberty Financial... and his new bank," said the senator.
Speaking for over 12 minutes on the Senate floor Monday evening, Warren pointed to the decision last month by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), whose leader was appointed by Trump, to grant approval for a federal bank charter for World Liberty Financial, a crypto investment fund that is owned in large part by the president himself and his family.
The Trump family owns 38.25% of the bank, while an investment fund backed by the national security adviser of the United Arab Emirates and the brother of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan owns 49% of the venture.
In January, Warren had called on the OCC to delay its review of World Liberty Financial's charter application until Trump divested from the venture.
"Donald Trump is now the first president in history to own and oversee his own bank. It may be the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen," said Warren. "With a bank charter, World Liberty will be able to operate nationwide, offer families and businesses financial products and services, and enjoy the credibility that comes with the federal government’s stamp of approval."
Trump is the first President in history to own and oversee his own bank.
We're live on the Senate floor to say enough is enough with Trump’s crypto corruption.
We need to pass the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act now.https://t.co/wFurTSS0n1
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 14, 2026
But while the president is determined to have his family's crypto venture recognized as a bank—one whose USD1 stablecoin token sales earned Trump $527 million in proceeds last year, according to financial disclosures—the senator warned that World Liberty Financial's charter could "drive even greater profits for President Trump and his family" while serving as "a new vehicle for billionaires, corporations, and foreign countries to bribe him."
With his own bank, the president could charge transaction fees and generate interest by "investing the cash deposited with World Liberty in exchange for the USD1 stablecoin," said Warren, noting that a similar scenario played out last year during a trial run, before the company was granted preliminary approval for the bank charter.
"MGX, a UAE state-owned investment fund, made a $2 billion investment in the crypto exchange Binance," she said. "Instead of using a fiat currency like the US dollar or the UAE dirham to purchase stock in Binance, MGX paid Binance using USD1, cutting Trump into the deal."
Warren suggested sardonically that it was likely just "coincidental" that Trump pardoned the founder of Binance, who had pleaded guilty to failing to guard against money laundering.
Companies affiliated with World Liberty Financial have also reportedly sold millions of dollars in tokens that conducted business with hackers sponsored by North Korea and sanctioned money-laundering entities in Russia, and accepted $100 million from a businessman reportedly under investigation in the UK for money laundering.
"Now with Trump’s federal bank charter, we could see more and more of this," said Warren.
The top officials associated with the bank would also likely have led to the charter application being "flatly denied under any previous administration" due to a lack of competence and previous misconduct, said Warren, pointing to bank president Zachary Witkoff, the son of Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who "has never worked in a senior banking role."
Warren called on her colleagues to reject the Clarity Act and instead pass her bill in order to terminate "this corrupt bank charter."
"Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues want to move in the opposite direction," she said. "They seem intent on furthering President Trump’s corruption. Look no further than the Senate’s first order of business after August recess. Is it a bill to make life more affordable for American families? No. Is it a bill to end Trump’s dangerous war in Iran? No. It’s a bill that would juice the value of President Trump’s crypto empire, and reward the crypto billionaires who have facilitated his corruption."
"Instead of further enriching the president, Congress should curb his corruption," Warren added. "Let’s start by passing my bill, the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act."
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