Saule Omarova, President Biden’s current nominee to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (also known as the OCC), is denying requests to give the Senate Banking Committee her university essay on Marxism which was written during her time living in the Soviet Union.
Republican Senator Pat Toomey, who is the ranking member of the committee, had sent a message to Omarova on October 6 asking the Law professor to give her Moscow State University thesis, entitled “Karl Marx’s Economic Analysis and the Revolution Theory in The Capital,” by October 13, citing lawmaker’s need to “completely assess the people to serve in the executive and independent agency roles.”
Omarova, who grew up inside the Soviet Union, removed any mention of her thesis from her resume, the Washington Free Beacon said. She also praised the now gone socialist government for not having a “gender pay gap.”
“What is shocking to me is the idea that a person nominated for a top position in our government should not be accountable for things they have advocated for,” Toomey stated during a hearing, adding that he had never “seen a more extreme choice for any regulatory role in the federal government.”
Omarova is a vocal critic of large banks and Wall Street, asking for a publicly-managed banking system overseen by the Fed and to stop “banking as we know it.” She is also against cryptocurrencies, saying we need a central bank digital currency instead and praising China’s crypto regulation.
Her ideas about financial regulation have gotten her criticism from top conservatives including Toomey and Senator Ted Cruz, who said her “radical threat to America’s economy.” Omarova defended herself during a Thursday interview, saying she was an “easy target” since she was a “minority” and a “woman.”
Omarova has not yet given her university thesis to lawmakers, according to Senate Banking Committee GOP.
“Ms. Omarova has time to attack conservatives during her interview with the Financial Times, but she can’t comply with our requirement that nominees— regardless of their ideology or party — give copies of their writings,” Amanda Gonzalez Thompson, spokeswoman for the Senate Banking Committee GOP, said in a comment shared with news outlets. “We do hope she reconsiders so lawmakers have the information needed to fulfill their duty to consent and advise on appointments.”
Author: Steven Sinclaire