A Senate debate over President Biden’s nominee to become a top banking regulator turned acrimonious Thursday after Louisiana Republican John Kennedy accused her of loyalty to the Communist Party of the former Soviet Union. If confirmed, Saule Omarova would become the first woman, first immigrant and first person of color to serve as comptroller of the currency. Omarova grew up in Soviet Kazakhstan and came to the U.S. in 1991. As a child, she was required to join a Soviet youth group. That became the basis for Senator Kennedy’s questioning. 

Sen. John Kennedy: “I don’t mean any disrespect. I don’t know whether to call you professor or comrade.”

Saule Omarova: “Senator, I’m not a communist. I do not subscribe to that ideology. I could not choose where I was born.”

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren rushed to Omarova’s defense. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: “The attacks on your nomination have been vicious and personal. We’ve just seen them — sexism, racism, pages straight out of Joe McCarthy’s 1950s Red Scare tactics. It is all there on full display. Welcome to Washington in 2021.”