Elizabeth Warren Proves You Don’t Have to Be in Majority to Win

Sen. Elizabeth Warren aligning with President Donald Trump on banning institutional investors’ involvement in the housing market was not on my 2026 bingo card. But times are, it’s safe to say, weird.

A GOP trifecta gives Democrats little to no political power… unless you are Warren, who has been able to use her position as ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee to force Republicans to move forward with her policies, even if it means causing a bicameral logjam. Ask Warren if there’s an update on the housing bill and if she thinks the House will take up the Senate’s package, her response will be something like there’s a housing crisis and the Senate’s version has the “full support of the President of the United States.”

How often do you hear a Democrat touting the White House’s support as a reason to move anything forward? In fact, who would have thought Warren and Trump, especially, would be on the same side of any issue?

The president spent years mocking the Massachusetts senator as “Pocahontas.” She’s dubbed him a “wannabe dictator.” She saw the administration beat down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the crowning achievements of her career.

Yet here she is, pushing through a housing bill filled with her priorities that has cut through the now-routine infighting between parties on Capitol Hill. Warren’s alignment with the president helped her push back on everything else Republicans want to do with the bill, like deregulate community banks (if you’re House Financial Services Chairman French Hill) or restrict the Fed’s ability to issue a digital currency (if you’re a member of the House Freedom Caucus.)

It helps that her GOP counterpart, committee chairman Tim Scott, doesn’t talk much—leaving Warren an opening to fill the vacuum. That’s not to say that Scott isn’t doing his share of the heavy lifting: numerous aides and members say Scott and Warren have been side by side on crafting the bill.

Asked how she felt about Scott’s involvement in the housing negotiations, she answers he’s a “terrific partner” just as Scott walks by.

“There he is!” Warren said, pointing at the senator Monday. “I’ll say that again: Chairman Scott has been a terrific partner who cares about getting housing for our families all across this country.” Scott smiled, thanked her, and said, “Everybody can win, that’s what we care about.”

Warren’s proven she can be a formidable force in committee on other issues—including cryptocurrency. She led Democrats in opposing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 when it came through the Banking Committee. Crypto regulation faces pushback from some elements of both parties, exhibited in May when two Democrats on the panel broke with Warren to advance the bill out of the committee.

But Warren can still have influence over the final vote, as Democrats will be looking to her on the floor when the bill advances to a full chamber vote. And if Democrats win the Senate this November, there’s a strong chance she will end up as chairwoman of the Banking Committee, elevating her power in a Trump administration even more.

Warren’s word carries weight across the Capitol, as well. She was instrumental in getting her Democratic counterpart, Rep. Maxine Waters, on board with the latest housing bill update. After slight changes to the text got both Waters and Hill to issue their support, it looks like the housing bill may reach Trump’s desk after all.

Getting the housing bill into law would be one of Democrats’ only strong wins this Congress, and heading into the midterms, they’re going to need it.