Elizabeth Ann Warren* (née Herring) was born on June 22, 1949, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the fourth child of middle-class parents Pauline (née Reed, 1912–1995) and Donald Jones Herring (1911–1997). Warren has described her family as teetering “on the ragged edge of the middle class” and “kind of hanging on at the edges by our fingernails.” She had three older brothers and was raised Methodist.

Warren lived in Norman until she was 11 years old, when the family moved to Oklahoma City. When she was 12, her father, a salesman at Montgomery Ward, had a heart attack, which led to many medical bills as well as a pay cut because he could not do his previous work. He later worked as a custodian for an apartment building. Eventually, the family’s car was repossessed because they failed to make loan payments. To help the family finances, her mother found work in the catalog order department at Sears. When she was 13, Warren started waiting tables at her aunt’s restaurant.

Warren became a star member of the debate team at Northwest Classen High School and won the state high school debating championship. She also won a debate scholarship to George Washington University at the age of 16. She initially aspired to be a teacher, but left GW after two years in 1968 when she was 19 to marry Jim Warren, whom she met in high school.

Warren and her husband moved to Houston, where he was employed by IBM. She enrolled in the University of Houston and graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree in speech pathology and audiology.

The Warrens moved to New Jersey when Jim received a job transfer. She soon became pregnant and decided to remain at home to care for their daughter. After the child turned two, Warren enrolled in Rutgers Law School at Rutgers University–Newark. Shortly before graduating in 1976, Warren became pregnant with their second child. She received her J.D. and passed the bar examination.

The couple divorced in 1978. Two years later, Warren married Bruce H. Mann, a law professor, but kept her first husband’s surname.

During law school, Warren worked as a summer associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. After she received her J.D. and passed the bar examination, she decided to perform legal services from home, writing wills and doing real estate closings. In the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Warren taught law at several American universities while researching issues related to bankruptcy and middle-class personal finance. She became involved with public work in bankruptcy regulation and consumer protection in the mid-1990s.

Warren began her academic career as a lecturer at Rutgers University, Newark School of Law (1977–78). She then moved to the University of Houston Law Center (1978–83), where she became an associate dean in 1980 and obtained tenure in 1981. She taught at the University of Texas School of Law as visiting associate professor in 1981, and returned as a full professor two years later (staying from 1983 to 1987). She was also a visiting professor at the University of Michigan in 1985 and a research associate at the Population Research Center of the University of Texas at Austin in 1983–87. During this period Warren also taught Sunday school.

Early in her career Warren became a proponent of on-the-ground research into how people respond to laws. Her work analyzing court records and interviewing judges, lawyers, and debtors, established her as a leading expert in the field of bankruptcy law.

Warren joined the University of Pennsylvania Law School as a full professor in 1987 and obtained an endowed chair in 1990, becoming the William A. Schnader Professor of Commercial Law. In 1992, she taught for a year at Harvard Law School as Robert Braucher Visiting Professor of Commercial Law. In 1995, Warren left Penn to become Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.

From 2006 to 2010 Warren was a member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion. She also served as a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference, an independent organization that advises the U.S. Congress on bankruptcy law, is a former vice president of the American Law Institute and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In 2012, Warren was elected to the Senate in Massachusetts. She is the first woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. She was reelected in 2016.

Committee assignments:

Committee on Armed Services
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Special Committee on Aging

In 2014, Warren visited Israel.

She is the author of three books and coauthor of six: As We Forgive Our Debtors: Bankruptcy and Consumer Credit in America (1989), The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt (2001) with Teresa A. Sullivan and Jay Westbrook, The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents are Going Broke (2004) with Amelia Warren Tyagi, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan (2006) with Warren Tyagi, Casenote Legal Briefs: Commercial Law (2006) with Lynn M. LoPucki, Daniel Keating, Ronald Mann, and Normal Goldenberg, The Law of Debtors and Creditors: Text, Cases, and Problems, 6th edition (2008) with Westbrook, Chapter 11: Reorganizing American Businesses: Essentials (2008), Secured Credit: A Systems Approach (2008) with Lynn M. LoPucki, A Fighting Chance (2014), and This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class (2017).

On February 9, 2019, Warren announced her candidacy for president in the 2020 election. Warren was an early front-runner with an extensive list of policy proposals and strong debate performances, but she was competing for many of the same voters as Bernie Sanders, who proved to have far greater support. Warren wound up a disappointing third in the Iowa caucuses, slid to fourth in New Hampshire and Nevada, and to fifth in South Carolina. On Super Tuesday, she had an embarrassing third-place finish in the primary of her home state, Massachusetts, and won only a handful of delegates. On March 5, 2020, she announced the end of her campaign but did not endorse any of her rivals.

Foreign Policy Advisers

Ganesh Sitaraman is a Vanderbilt law professor.

Sasha Baker, former deputy chief of staff to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter

Ilan Goldenberg, former chief of staff to the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations in the Obama State Department.

Jarrett Blanc, former coordinator for the Iran nuclear implementation at the State Department and acting special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan under President Barack Obama.

Alexandra Bell, former senior adviser to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.

Brittany Brown, former acting senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council.

Hady Amr, former deputy special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Mike Fuchs, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs.

Laurel Miller, former acting special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Loren DeJonge Schulman, senior adviser to national security adviser Susan Rice

Robert Ford, former U.S. ambassador to Syria.

Dave Rank, former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy to China.

Anti-Semitism

“As president, I’ll improve data collection on bias-motivated crimes and prioritize their investigation and prosecution. I’ll expand background checks and the use of extreme risk protection orders to keep guns out of the hands of those who would use them to provoke fear in Jewish communities. I’ll promote anti-bias education — including about manifestations of anti-Semitism and about the Holocaust — as an educational priority, and I’ll establish a commission to address incitement to violence on the Internet in a manner consistent with freedom of expression. I’ll work with state and local law enforcement to ensure that Jewish institutions and neighborhoods are safe and free from fear, and I’ll work with local community leaders to build trust and combat hate.”

“Criticism that singles out Israel as uniquely worthy of censure can often be anti-Semitic in intent. At the same time, branding all criticism of Israel as automatically anti-Semitic has a chilling effect on our public discourse and makes it harder to achieve a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians. We can speak out against the far-right-wing policies of the Netanyahu government, like annexation and settlements, while supporting Israel. What I don’t accept is when people on either side of the aisle criticize or commend Israel in terms that echo long-standing slanders against the Jewish people. Our leaders have a responsibility not to do that. And threats of violence — from any side — are never acceptable.” (JTA, February 26, 2020)
“I do not support the boycott, but I think outlawing protected free speech activity violates the Constitution.” (New York Times, December 2019)
“Let’s be clear, anti-Semitism has no place in democracy.” (Comments to American Jewish Committee, June 3, 2019)
Re three arson attacks in one week in suburbs outside of Boston in May 2019, Warrant tweeted: “These actions are meant to inspire fear in places of worship and joy. But we won’t let that happen. By coming together to stand against antisemitism and other forms of bigotry, our communities will only grow stronger.” (@SenWarren, May 17, 2019)
Re controversy of anti-Semitic remarks by Rep. Ilhan Omar: “We have a moral duty to combat hateful ideologies in our own country and around the world—and that includes both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia,” she wrote. “In a democracy, we can and should have an open, respectful debate about the Middle East that focuses on policy. Branding criticism of Israel as automatically anti-Semitic has a chilling effect on our public discourse and makes it harder to achieve a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians. Threats of violence — like those made against Rep. Omar — are never acceptable.” (Forward, March 7, 2019)
Warren was one of 22 Democrats who voted against the Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019 (76 senators voted aye) a bill that authorizes state and local governments to demand that contractors declare they do not support boycotts of Israel or its settlements in the West Bank. She said, “I oppose the boycott. But I think penalizing free speech activity violates our Constitution, so I oppose this bill.” (JTA, February 8, 2019)

Israel

Iran

The New York Times asked each candidate a series of questions related to U.S. policy toward Iran. Warren said she “would re-enter the deal with no new preconditions.”

Asked about the legality, justification and wisdom of killing Qassim Suleimani, Warren said, “The president’s reckless decision has brought us to the brink of another war in the Middle East. His administration has produced no evidence of imminent threat and made no meaningful attempt at a legal justification. There was no prior consultation with Congress, and no serious thought put into the potential consequences for our troops and our country — or even for the president’s own stated strategies in the region. President Trump’s dangerous escalation has made Americans less safe.”

Regarding a future military conflict, Warren said, “I want to end America’s wars in the Middle East, not start a new one with Iran. The litmus test I will use for any military action against Iran is the same that I will use as I consider any military action anywhere in the world. I will not send our troops into harm’s way unless there is a vital national security interest at risk, a strategy with clear and achievable objectives, and an understanding and acceptance of the long-term costs.”

Asked about her strategy for dealing with Iran, she said, “The first thing we need to do is de-escalate and reopen channels of communication with Iran, using the P5+1 and other interlocutors. The best way to do that is to start by negotiating the re-entry of the United States and Iran into the J.C.P.O.A. if that is still possible. If the crisis and conflict President Trump has chosen to create make re-entry into the J.C.P.O.A. impossible, we can still lead with diplomacy and pursue interim confidence-building agreements that focus on our most pressing strategic priority in the region: constraining Iran’s nuclear program.” (New York Times, February 2020)
“We also need to address serious concerns about Iran’s policies beyond its nuclear program, including its ballistic missile program and support for destabilizing regional proxies,” Warren said. “The [Iran deal] made addressing these problems easier by taking the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran off the table.” (JTA, January 17, 2020)
Following news that Iran had fired missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq, Warren said, “This is a reminder of why we need to de-escalate tension in the Middle East. The American people do not want a war with Iran.” (CNN, January 10, 2020)
“If Iran returns to compliance with its obligations under the nuclear deal, the United States should return as well. If Iran is not in compliance, I will pursue strong and principled diplomacy in concert with our allies to bring both the United States and Iran back into the deal.

The JCPOA is only the beginning. We will need to negotiate a follow-on to the agreement that continues to constrain Iran’s nuclear program past the “sunset” of some of its original terms.

We also need to address serious concerns about Iran’s policies beyond its nuclear program, including its ballistic missile program and support for destabilizing regional proxies. The JCPOA made addressing these problems easier by taking the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran off the table. As predicted, President Trump’s reckless decision to withdraw from the agreement has clearly put us in a weaker position, and to make progress we will need to rebuild support from regional and international actors whose interests are also at stake. But with time and leverage, the damage can be undone and diplomacy can be successful again.” (Council on Foreign Relations, September 16, 2019)
Warren was one of the first Senate leaders to issue a statement of support for the Iran nuclear deal, praising it in August 2015 as “a comprehensive set of restrictions to block Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb.” She added, it “is far easier to counter the ambitions of an Iran that has no nuclear weapon than it is to counter an Iran that can threaten the world with a nuclear bomb.”

In May 2018, she said withdrawing from the Iran deal “breaks our word, hurts our credibility with our allies, empowers Iranian hardliners, and doesn’t make us any safer here at home.” The president “pulled the U.S. out without offering any real alternative to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, creating chaos and confusion across the Middle East, and the world. This isn’t a strategy. It’s a recipe for disaster.” She said in March 2019 that if she becomes president, she would seek to reenter the Iran deal. (Haaretz, June 27, 2019)
Warren voted for the Iran nuclear deal. When asked if she would return to it, a spokesperson said that “as long as Iran continues to abide by the terms of the deal, she would return to it as president in order to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” (Al-Monitor, March 19, 2019)

Syria

Regarding the withdrawal of U.S. troops in October 2019, Warren said in that month’s debate, “I think that we ought to get out of the Middle East. I don’t think we should have troops in the Middle East but we have to do it the right way, the smart way.”

What this president has done is that he has sucked up to dictators, he has made impulsive decisions that often his own team doesn't understand, he has cut and run on our allies, and he has enriched himself at the expense of the United States of America. In Syria, he has created a bigger-than-ever humanitarian crisis. He has helped ISIS get another foothold, a new lease on life.

We need to get out, but we need to do this through a negotiated solution. There is no military solution in this region. (Washington Post, October 16, 2019)
In January 2019 Warren criticized Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan. She agreed that US troops should be withdrawn from Syria and Afghanistan but said such withdrawals should be part of a “coordinated” plan formed with U.S. allies. (Wikipedia)

*AICE does not rate or endorse any candidate for political office.

Sources: Warren;
“Elizabeth Warren,” Wikipedia;
Elizabeth Warren;
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Marcy Oster, “Elizabeth Warren urges two-state solution after announcing presidential bid,” JTA, (February 11, 2019);
Philip Weiss, “Elizabeth Warren warns of ‘demographic realities, births… bearing down on Israel’ — racist code for Palestinian babies,” Mondoweiss, (February 22, 2019);
Cnaan Liphshiz, “Us Should ‘Call Out Netanyahu’s Corruption,’ Sen. Elizabeth Warren Says,” JTA, (March 1, 2019);
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Bryant Harris, “2020 Democrats vow to re-enter Iran nuclear deal,” Al-Monitor, (March 19, 2019);
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Views on Israel of U.S. Presidential Candidates 2020: Elizabeth Warren

Views on Israel of U.S. Presidential Candidates 2020:
Elizabeth Warren