A look into the ugly and incredibly personal fight over Biden's pick to oversee banks

A look into the ugly and incredibly personal fight over Biden's pick to oversee banks Enlarge this image toggle caption Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The president's pick to become a top banking regulator doesn't usually attract a lot of interest, but this time is different. At the hearing, Sen. John Kennedy brought up her childhood in the former Soviet Union, and Republicans cited an academic paper she recently wrote proposing a reinvention of the U.S. financial system, which The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board argues is proof she hasn't "repudiated her Soviet-era views." In an interview with NPR, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called Toomey's remarks "despicable" and "character assassination" — a term he used again Thursday, after Kennedy questioned Omarova. "Saule Omarova is eminently qualified and was nominated for this role given her strong track record on regulation and strong academic credentials," an administration official said in a statement to NPR. "Some of Dr. Omarova's past statements about the role of government in the financial system raise real concerns about her ability to impartially serve at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and I'm looking forward to discussing them with her at her hearing," Tester said in a statement before the hearing.