Elizabeth Warren, a top Obama aide and liberal darling, recently told the Republican chairman of a House subcommittee she needed to leave his hearing for another scheduled meeting.
But now the chairman of the oversight committee, Rep. Darrell Issa, is telling Warren to clear a “full day” of her calendar in June so Republicans can grill her again.
“In light of the inability of all members of the subcommittee to have an opportunity to ask you questions, and your unwillingness to provide direct and responsive answers to a number of important questions, the committee would like to further discuss your plans for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),” a June 1 letter from Issa reads.
“According to your publicly available calendar, your schedule looks completely free during the month of June. I stand ready and willing to work with you to accommodate your schedule and find a mutually agreeable date for you to testify. However, I expect you to remain before the committee until all members of the committee have had all of their questions answered and thus ask that you clear your schedule for the full day of the hearing.”
At a May 24 hearing, Warren told an oversight subcommittee chairman, Rep. Patrick McHenry, “you are causing problems … we had to change everything on my schedule to try to accommodate your time. But the agreement was that I would be out of here at 2:15 [p.m.] because there are other things now scheduled at 2:30 [p.m.].”
When Warren continued protesting that she had been misled about how long she would have to testify, McHenry accused her of lying.
“You’re making this up. You’re simply – this is not the case,” McHenry said, “She’s accusing me of making an agreement that I never made.”
Warren’s eyes widened in shock at the charge. She later posted a video of the incident on her Facebook page and her legions of left wing fans created an animated “gif” image of her reaction.
President Obama appointed Warren to oversee the creation of the CFPB, a new agency created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation to regulate the financial market like the Environmental Protection Agency regulates to protect the environment.
Proponents say the new agency is crucial to protecting consumers, but many critics fear the agency will burden the economy with too many regulations.
Obama and other liberals want Warren to head the agency, but she faces a stiff climb to Senate confirmation.
Watch the video of Warren in McCarthy’s subcommittee: