REUTERS/Jason Reed
"We're the only ones fighting back. Right now, on financial reform, the Republicans are trying to roll back the financial reforms of Dodd-Frank," Warren said. "In fact, Mitch McConnell has announced that if he gets the majority in the Senate, his first objective is to repeal healthcare and his second is to roll back the financial reforms, and in particular to target the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - the one agency that's out there for American families, the one that has returned more than four billion dollars to families who got cheated by big financial institutions."
Warren, who served as an assistant to Obama and helped him establish the CFPB before entering the Senate, has earned a reputation as a fierce populist and critic of the financial industry. In the interview with Salon, Warren said she understood why voters might be upset Democrats aren't "tougher" on Wall Street, but she argued they are still better than the alternative.
"So, Democrats have not done all that they should, but at least we're out there fighting for the right things. We're fighting and I think trying to pull in the right direction. So if the question is, hold us to a higher standard, man, I'm there. You're right," said Warren. "You want to criticize and say, "you should do more!," the answer is: Yes, we should! You bet! We should be stronger. We should be tougher. But understand the difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party right now. It's pulling as hard and fast as it can in the opposite direction."