Sen. Elizabeth Warren is a Leftist But, Like Cruz, She's Rubbing the Old Guard's Feathers the Wrong Way

Photo Credit: Tim Pierce/FlickrA freshman senator is causing a stir. Outspoken and impatient of the upper chamber’s clubby atmosphere, this career academic is driven by intellectual self-confidence and a willingness to be abrasive. The result is bipartisan offense and admiration.

Such an outline might depict Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), the staunchly conservative freshman Republican, who is loathed by opponents and critics, loved by his base and makes his colleagues wary, to put it mildly. But it also describes Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), a firmly liberal Democrat who in her first six months on Capitol Hill has displayed elbows just as sharp as those of her fellow freshman across the aisle.

Warren clashed last month with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, over the nomination of Michael Froman to serve as U.S. Trade Representative.

Even though Froman sailed through the Finance Committee, Warren criticized him on the chamber floor after he declined to give her information about trade negotiations.

Froman’s backers say he would have been approved sooner if not for Warren’s opposition. Baucus made his displeasure known after the vote.

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