Warren erodes support for Treasury pick

Six left-leaning senators have joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in opposition to an Obama administration Treasury Department nominee — meaning he will need multiple Republican votes in order to be confirmed.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) told The Huffington Post on Thursday that she will oppose the confirmation of Antonio Weiss, an investment banker who was nominated to be undersecretary for domestic finance.

{mosads}“Based on his record and qualifications as a Wall Street investment banker, I don’t have confidence that he will work to even the playing field for middle-class families and small businesses who need a fair shot to get ahead,” she said.

For weeks, Warren has been saying Weiss is too close to Wall Street and not qualified for the role.

Warren has argued that Wall Street’s significant presence in the halls of power needs to be curbed and that Weiss is emblematic of the revolving door process between the public and private sectors.

She also has voiced concern that Weiss’s investment experience is primarily in international finance, which she says makes him ill-suited to the domestic position.

Though Warren’s arguments have not received great support amongst her colleagues, a small group of senators have joined her.

In addition to Baldwin, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have all said they will oppose the nomination.

Weiss already has at least one Republican in his corner: Bloomberg reported that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will back him. If no more Democrats come out in opposition, that will allow his nomination to pass with 50 votes and a tiebreaker from Vice President Biden.

The White House has defended Weiss and said it hopes Republicans will join Democrats in voting for him.

“Just because there are a couple of members who have said that they aren’t [supporting Weiss], doesn’t change the need that we’re gonna need some bipartisan support to get him confirmed,” press secretary Josh Earnest said. “The good news is, he strongly deserves that bipartisan support, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to make that case.”