--- title: Elizabeth Warren Has A Plan to Replace Commerce Department description: Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined Republicans such as Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Rick Perry in calling for the Commerce Department to be scrapped. canonical: https://time.com/5599941/elizabeth-warren-commerce-department/ author: Abby Vesoulis article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-04T13:30:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:47.030Z article:section: Politics og:title: Elizabeth Warren Just Joined a Longtime Republican Cause og:description: She wants to end the Commerce Department og:url: https://time.com/5599941/elizabeth-warren-commerce-department/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36badf1cf05766e8/698947a516d8840697c34dca/elizabeth-warren-2020-presidential-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5203 og:image:height: 2927 og:image:alt: Elizabeth Warren Holds Organizing Event In NYC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Elizabeth Warren Just Joined a Longtime Republican Cause twitter:description: She wants to end the Commerce Department twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36badf1cf05766e8/698947a516d8840697c34dca/elizabeth-warren-2020-presidential-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Elizabeth Warren Just Joined a Longtime Republican Cause > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020 [Watch (HLS stream): Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EcGVhn6h.m3u8) (1:17)  _Published 2019-01-18. Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020_  by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Jun 4, 2019 1:30 PM UTC  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), one of several Democrats running for the party's nomination in the 2020 presidential race, speaks during a campaign event, March 8, 2019 in Queens, New York. (Drew Angerer—Getty Images) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), one of several Democrats running for the party's nomination in the 2020 presidential race, speaks during a campaign event, March 8, 2019 in Queens, New York. (Drew Angerer—Getty Images) Drew Angerer—Getty Images  by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Jun 4, 2019 1:30 PM UTC Republicans have long sought to scrap the U.S. Department of Commerce. Texas Sen. [Ted Cruz,](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/10/heres-the-agency-ted-cruz-forgot-he-wants-to-abolish/?utm%5Fterm=.b04ae5f0a1d8) former Ohio Gov. [John Kasich](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-02/kasich-would-eliminate-u-s-commerce-department-cabinet-post), longtime Rep. [Ron Paul](https://www.cnbc.com/id/44942719) and former Texas Gov. [Rick Perry](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rick-perry-forgets-agencies%5Fn%5F1085249) have all called for cutting or eliminating it, as have the conservative [Heritage Foundation](https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/report/how-close-down-the-department-commerce) and the libertarian-oriented [Cato Institute](https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/cut-commerce-department-boost-real-business). You can now add Sen. Elizabeth Warren to the list. In a Medium post published Tuesday morning, the Massachusetts Democrat outlined an economic agenda that includes “consolidating existing government programs that affect job creation” by replacing the Commerce Department with a new Department of Economic Development that aims to create and protect sustainable jobs. The [Commerce Department](https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/u-s-department-of-commerce) is an amorphous government body tasked with promoting job creation and economic growth. It houses the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Patent and Trademark Office and oversees miscellaneous governmental bodies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements. Warren’s Department of Economic Development would absorb all trade-related programs and some of the business-related agencies under the existing Commerce Department. It would also compile a National Jobs Strategy every four years in order to identify new economic risks and opportunities, her Medium post says. “It will focus not just on the overall American economy, but on regional economies. It will examine trends that have disproportionate effects on rural communities and smaller cities. And it will establish clear goals for American jobs and American industry that will guide how the Department of Economic Development prioritizes its investments and direct its programs,” Warren writes. Unlike plans put forward by Cruz and Perry, who hoped to scale back the size of the federal government, Warren’s plan is focused more on increasing worker protections by grouping programs that help them under a single agency. Former President Barack Obama presented a similar proposal back in 2012, when he tried to eliminate the Commerce Department in favor of a broader organization led by a Secretary of Business. That plan fizzled because it was “not a priority,” a former White House chief of staff told [Politico](https://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/obama-commerce-plans-090872) at the time. Warren’s economic agenda includes encouraging manufacturers to produce their goods in the United States by leveraging federal research dollars, investing $20 billion into apprenticeship programs for the next ten years, and requiring the federal government buy American-made products, whenever possible. “If we can aggressively intervene in markets to protect the interests of the wealthy and well-connected,” she writes in the Medium post, “then we can damn well use all the tools at our disposal to protect the interests of American workers.” Warren says she’ll expand on her broader economic patriotism plan — which includes establishing the Department of Economic Development — with specific issue-area proposals, on topics like the environment and trade, in the coming weeks. The first of these specific proposals will also be announced Tuesday, ahead of campaign visits in Michigan and Indiana. The green manufacturing plan, as she calls it, would allocate $1.5 trillion toward purchasing American-made clean energy products for use and export, $400 billion toward researching clean energy development, and $100 billion toward creating a federal office that helps other countries buy and use American-made clean energy over the course of ten years. A Moody’s Analytics cost-analysis report obtained by TIME indicates a substantial portion of this proposal’s costs would be offset by Warren’s plans to strengthen corporate tax rules and end federal oil and gas subsidies, though it estimates the 10-year budget deficit would still increase by about $100 billion. Warren argues it’s worth the investment in a separate Medium post also out on Tuesday. “With big and bold investments in American research, American industry, and American workers, we can lead the global effort to combat climate change — and create more than a million good jobs here at home,” she writes. Warren’s proposal to create the Department of Economic Development is not the first time she has sought to reshape the executive branch. Back in 2007, Warren [argued](https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/5/unsafe-at-any-rate/) for the creation of a federal agency that would protect consumers from predatory financial practices. A couple years later, she played a major role in forging that idea into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after the 2008 financial collapse proved the industry required stricter regulations. Two years ago, that bureau [reported](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/prepared-remarks-cfpb-director-richard-cordray-people-and-places-conference/) it had secured about $12 billion in relief for 29 million customers since it opened in 2011. ## Transcript Democrats are lining up to run against Donald Trump. [ MUSIC ] With the 2020 election still a ways away, an unusually large number of candidates have announced they are running or hinted strongly that they will. Here's a look at some of the major names who have joined the race so far. [ MUSIC ] As a law professor, Warren helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Before joining the Senate in 2012. She's long advocated for tougher rules on banks and corporations and pocketbook issues like student loan reform. A former member of the House from upstate New York, Gillibrand has moved to the left since taking Hillary Clinton's old Senate seat in 2009. In announcing her run, she cited her experience as a young mom. A former state legislator and US representative, Brown has represented Ohio in the Senate since 2006. He will be pushing a brand of Midwestern liberalism that mixes Trump's skepticism of trade agreements with Warren's concerns about Wall Street. An Iraq veteran and former state lawmaker, Gabbard was the first Hindu elected to Congress. But her past opposition to gay marriage and interactions with Syrian dictator Bashar al- Assad make her a long shot in the Democratic primary. [ MUSIC ] The former mayor of San Antonio and Housing and Urban Development secretary, Castro has an unusual resume for a presidential candidate. But he believes his arguments on hot- button issues like immigration can help him break out. 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