OPINION:
Whoever said President Joe Biden’s administration isn’t filled with radical liberals determined to destroy America must not be familiar with one of his most recent picks to lead a federal agency.
Saule Omarova is as anti-American as they come, but that has not stopped Mr. Biden from nominating her to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency within the Treasury Department. At first glance, the position may seem harmless enough, but don’t be fooled. If confirmed, Ms. Omarova would wield considerable power as the national bank regulator. And she’s made clear exactly how she intends to use her power – and it’s not to benefit Americans.
In her capacity as part of the higher education elite, she has written extensively about her view of who a central bank should or should not favor and which groups she deems worthy of government support. Spoiler alert – it’s not hardworking Americans.
Rarely in Washington is someone as open and straightforward as Ms. Omarova in her views, or more appropriately disdain, for freedom, free-market capitalism, and prosperity. In other words, she holds in contempt the very ideals that built our Nation into the strong and prosperous country we know today. With nominees like Ms. Omarova, our institutions will be under attack. In fact, Ms. Omarova has stated explicitly that she seeks to “effectively end banking as we know it.”
If admitting to an outright frontal assault on the industry she will be tasked with regulating isn’t insulting enough, let’s look at more of her writings. Her intention to radically change banking is not an isolated statement. You don’t have to take my word for it; we need to look no further than her words and writings to expose the anti-American agenda she embraces. Specifically, she has called for “re-imag[ining] the role of a central bank as the ultimate public platform for generating, modulating, and allocating financial resources in a modern economy.”
Just in case her intentions weren’t clear, she goes on to elaborate exactly what this would mean – “[W]hereby central bank accounts fully replace—rather than uneasily co-exist with—private bank deposits…” The purpose of this is to control capital and allow the federal government to determine who has access to funds and who is worthy of financial support. Free markets step aside; if Omarova ruled the world, she would seek to outlaw private banks altogether, crushing small businesses who depend on them. Remember that over 99% of businesses in this country are small businesses which contribute to nearly half of our Nation’s economic activity.
If you think this sort of central planning sounds familiar, you’re correct. It is right out of the Marxist playbook. So it may not be surprising to learn that as recently as 2019, Ms. Omarova was part of a Facebook group called “Marxist Analysis and Policy.” Fortunately, this Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing which will allow Ms. Omarova to explain her deep-seated disdain for private industry when she testifies.
As I know from first-hand experience, a Senate confirmation hearing is no cakewalk. I encourage Senators to seize this opportunity and use it to ask questions because the American people deserve to know the truth about Ms. Omarova’s radical agenda. Recent polling from Scott Rasmussen reveals how out of step Ms. Omarova’s views are with the American public. Specifically, an overwhelming 63% are opposed to ending our system of private banking.
Right now, as our small businesses continue to recover, access to capital should not be filtered through a single unelected bureaucrat who seeks to dismantle the very industries that have helped make our Nation as prosperous it is today. Americans deserve to know the truth about this anti-American Biden administration nominee.
• Linda McMahon, chair of the Board of America First Policy Institute and as chair of AFPI’s Center for the American Worker, served in President Trump’s Cabinet as administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). She was the president and later CEO of WWE, INC., which she and her husband, Vince, grew from a small regional corporation to a multinational public company.
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