Elizabeth Warren fires back at Pete Buttigieg's 'pocket change' comment with another big money pledge
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has more than small donor money in her pocket.
After South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg attacked Warren and other candidates for relying on "pocket change" to fund their 2020 campaigns, Warren issued a typically outsized response. She didn't call out Buttigieg by name, but instead pledged to avoid another segment of big-money donors and revealed a proposal to root out corporate influence in politics, essentially setting up a fight for Tuesday night's primary debate.
Buttigieg on Monday defended his acceptance of big-money donations by saying "we're not going to beat Trump with pocket change." Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) issued a blatant rebuttal, but Warren took a more subtle approach in her Tuesday blog post by reminding readers she'd pledged not to take donations from federal lobbyists or PACs throughout her entire presidential run. In addition, Warren said she wouldn't take "take any contributions over $200 from executives at big tech companies, big banks, private equity firms, or hedge funds."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Warren then called on her fellow candidates to disclose if they'd given special titles to big-money donors — an attempt to expose if they'd been "hobnobbing with the rich and powerful," she wrote. And beyond these "voluntary changes," Warren discussed how, if elected, she'd stop foreign and corrupt influence in U.S. elections, "expand disclosure of fundraising and spending," and establish public financing for federal campaigns. Find all of Warren's proposal here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Nigel Hamilton's 6 inspirational books for fellow writers
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by John Banville, Ann Patchett, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The winners and losers in Gaetz's rise and fall
The Explainer The implosion of Donald Trump's first pick to run the Department of Justice was part fluke, part feature and part forecast of the president-elect's incoming administration
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
6 outstanding homes for under $600K
Feature Featuring heated concrete floors in New Mexico and an outdoor movie screen in Washington, D.C.
By The Week Staff Published
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 ends
Speed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversible
Speed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
At least 95 dead in Spain flash floods
Speed Read Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane Oscar
Speed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%
Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane Milton
Speed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Beryl kills 4, knocks out power to 2.7M in Texas
Speed Read Millions now face sweltering heat without air conditioning
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published