Launching Chair Bid, Waters Targets Crypto, Prediction Markets, Private Equity

The California Democrat laid out a lengthy policy agenda and committee improvements in her bid to lead the House Financial Services panel.

By Jasper Goodman and Katherine Hapgood

11/06/2026, 9:11am ET

Rep. Maxine Waters on Friday launched her bid to again lead Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee, vowing to “pursue a bold agenda focused on affordability, accountability, and accessibility,” according to a letter to colleagues obtained by POLITICO.

The 88-year-old California lawmaker, who has led Democrats on the panel since 2013, is facing a challenge for the job from Illinois Rep. Sean Casten, 54, who launched a bid to topple her Thursday. Illinois Rep. Bill Foster, 71, is also considering running, though he is currently leaning against it.

Waters laid out an array of details about her potential agenda as chair, writing that she wants to pursue housing efforts “expanding affordable housing programs and reforming mortgage finance,” find a way to “permanently and independently” fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and “help our community banks by reforming deposit insurance.” She also said in the letter she wants to “pass legislation to stop Trump’s crypto corruption, establish tough but fair rules of the road for legitimate crypto ventures, and create safeguards to protect consumers, small businesses, community banks and the financial system.”

The five-page letter, which represents the most detailed preview of her agenda yet, vows to “rein in bad private equity actors and bring this unaccountable industry out of the shadows and subject it to oversight and regulation” and “eliminate the junk fees that are nickel-and-diming our constituents, such as overdraft fees, late fees, convenience fees, and over-the-limit fees.”

She also pledged to “pass legislation to ‘AI proof’ our financial system and economy” and “rein in predatory lending and predatory platforms, including prediction markets, so that our constituents keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets.”

The letter also seeks to address criticism regarding her approach to running the committee and communication with other members. She wrote that she plans to “convene a meeting with potential Subcommittee chairs and Committee Members to discuss collaboration, ways to empower Subcommittee chairs, and create a plan for moving Member legislation and Subcommittee Chair priorities” and hold “listening sessions” for members.

She also vowed to rename the panel the “Committee on Housing and Financial Services” to “put housing first,” eliminate “all paper in hearings and markups,” and create new committee leadership positions for more junior members.

Waters touted her record in the letter, writing that she knows “how to strike deals, even with Trump officials.”

“At a time when Americans are demanding that Congress deliver results, the Financial Services Committee needs experienced leadership that will address the crushing affordability crisis, expand access to housing, foster a dynamic and fair financial system, and hold the corrupt Trump Administration accountable. I am ready and fired up to lead that charge,” she wrote.