US elections: Warren vows to drain swamp, Democrat way

ANKARA

With the 2020 U.S. presidential elections only 14 months away, Democrat hopeful Elizabeth Warren on Monday vowed to drain the swamp in Capitol Hill by fighting corruption” and making “structural changes.”

“Together, we can root out the corruption in Washington. We can make big, structural changes that will restore our trust in government. And when I’m President, that’s exactly what I plan to do,” tweeted Warren, ahead of what is billed as a major Monday evening address on corruption in New York’s Washington Square Park.

As her campaign gains momentum through its focus on social programs, oversight, transparency, and restoring trust in government, Warren’s tweets began to lay the foundation for her speech.

“That’s not all. I've also released plans to make sure that no president is above the law, to tackle defense contractor coziness at the Pentagon,” said Warren, promising to strictly audit Defense Department contracts.

Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts since 2013, was formerly a law school professor specializing in bankruptcy law.

Considered one of the top Democratic three nominees along with Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden to challenge Republican U.S. President Donald Trump in 2020, Warren slammed the Trump administration, saying she “will fix” U.S. criminal laws during her presidency and hold the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court, “to the highest ethical standards.”

“The Trump administration is the most corrupt of our lifetimes,” said Warren, calling Trump a “walking conflict of interest.”

“His cabinet secretaries are no better. His Supreme Court Justices were hand-picked by right-wing extremist groups, and some of his donors are now ambassadors,” she added.

On Sunday Warren called for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh amid revelations of what she called more “disturbing” alleged sexual improprieties in his past.

“Last year the Kavanaugh nomination was rammed through the Senate without a thorough examination of the allegations against him,” she tweeted on Sunday. “Like the man who appointed him, Kavanaugh should be impeached,” she added, referring to Trump.

Transformation of government

Warren on Monday went on to say that her plan “lays out the most sweeping set of anti-corruption reforms" since the 1974 Watergate scandal at a time when “widely popular policies are blocked because corporations and billionaires use their money and influence to stop any progress.”

Warren and Sanders stand out among Democratic presidential hopefuls for prioritizing social programs and their views of U.S. relations with other countries, including Israel.

While Biden calls himself a “Zionist” and is staunchly pro-Israel, Warren and Sanders have criticized Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

Biden is viewed as the candidate and representative of the Democratic establishment, with his campaign faring well in terms of donations from pro-Israel lobbies and individuals.

Warren and Sanders, on the other hand, are popular with progressives and liberals, claimed by many as the new face of the Democratic Party, and get more support and donations from young people and low- to middle-income families.