‘Such BS’: Scott Brown is dubious of Joe Biden’s claim that he ‘got votes’ for the CFPB
Elizabeth Warren declined to give Biden credit for her brainchild agency. So did her GOP predecessor.
Scott Brown isn’t buying Joe Biden’s claim about helping establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
During the Democratic presidential primary debate Tuesday, the former vice president said he lobbied his former Senate colleagues for votes in support of the CFPB, a federal agency first conceived and championed by fellow 2020 candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
“I went on the floor and got you votes,” Biden told Warren, after she highlighted her successful uphill fight to establish the independent watchdog agency.
In a remarkable confrontation, Biden repeatedly told Warren, “I got you votes” after she spoke about opening the CFPB, one of her signature achievements.
“I am deeply grateful to President Obama,” Warren replied, “who fought so hard to make sure that agency was passed into law.” pic.twitter.com/Ik5aplt0D9
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 16, 2019
“I got votes for that bill,” he repeated. “I convinced people to vote for it.”
Still, the Massachusetts senator declined to give Biden credit for the CFPB — and neither does her predecessor.
“Such BS. Never spoke to me, ” Brown, who is now the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, told The Intercept in a Twitter message, when asked about Biden’s remarks.
One of the key Republican votes needed to pass Dodd-Frank, which included the CFPB, was Sen. Scott Brown. I asked him if Biden lobbied him to back the bill. He did not. https://t.co/C9jI3jJnHs pic.twitter.com/n4nBkTyHuM
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) October 17, 2019
The CFPB was established as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill in 2010. Brown — a Bay State Republican who won the special election to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy earlier that year — was one of the three GOP members in the Senate who ultimately supported the legislation, giving it a filibuster-proof 60 “yes” votes, though his exact role in shaping the bill has been contested.
Following the debate this week, Biden’s involvement has also become the subject of disagreement.
According to former White House officials and his own speeches at the time, the vice president was supportive of the CFPB as part of the broader bill and, as a former Delaware senator, was helpful leveraging his former working partners in the chamber.
However, as The Intercept reported Thursday, a number of legislative officials closely involved in crafting the CFPB provision said they don’t recall Biden specifically advocating for the CFPB. His claim is otherwise somewhat difficult to pin down; the agency was included within the original text of the bill, rather than as an amendment, so it never received a standalone vote.
“Joe was generally supportive,” former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, the refom bill’s House sponsor, told The Intercept, “His people were supportive.”
During the debate (as well as in her book, according to The Washington Post‘s Dave Weigel), Warren solely gave credit to President Barack Obama for supporting the CFPB, which was reportedly staunchly opposed by big banks, Republicans, and some Democrats with ties to the financial industry (the Trump administration has since worked to diminish its power).
“I am deeply grateful to President Obama, who fought so hard to make sure that agency was passed into law, and I am deeply grateful to every single person who fought for it and who helped pass it into law,” she said.
“You did a hell of a job in your job,” Biden replied.
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