WASHINGTON––U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) joined Elizabeth MacDonald on The Evening Edit to discuss President Joe Biden’s nomination of Dr. Saule Omarova to be Comptroller of the Currency. Omarova testified before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday at a hearing on her nomination.

Partial Transcript

Boozman on Omarova’s radical policy views that would federalize U.S. banking: “This is another example of President Biden – or whoever is in charge of the White House – bringing forth a candidate that is totally out-of-touch with the American people. This individual would have great oversight of the banking industry, and the reality is she would do away with private banking – federalize the banking system. You can imagine if you were somebody the administration is not in favor of, the chances of getting a loan. I’ve often said the backbone of America, the backbone of our economy is small business. The backbone of small businesses is community banks. This would kill our community banks.”

Boozman on Omarova separating her past statements from her role as a regulator and the Biden administration’s plan to beef up the IRS: “It’s ridiculous. The idea that you couldn’t find somebody that was more mainstream is absolutely crazy. You mention the IRS agents. $80 billion – almost doubling the budget of the IRS. 87,000 new agents. Being in a situation where, after you reach a threshold of $10,000 in your checking account, all of that information starts going to the IRS. The list goes on and on and on. And that’s why the president’s approval ratings are at an all-time low.”

Boozman on comparisons to inflation during the Nixon and Ford administrations: “I think the difference in Nixon and Ford, is this administration is intentionally creating the higher prices. When you go in and get rid of the Keystone Pipeline. When you have a situation where you nix drilling on public lands. We’re getting more oil from Russia now than we are from Alaska – that’s driving up costs. The average price of gasoline is a dollar-and-a quarter more than it was a year ago. Americans, this Thanksgiving, in many areas are going to be a lot colder – people on fixed incomes, because fuel costs are going to be up 30 percent.”