Warren Is Nominated for Senate Banking Committee Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor who won a Senate seat on November, is officially on track to join the Senate Banking Committee, after the Democratic Steering Committee approved her assignment on Wednesday. The appointment is subject to approval by the full Democratic caucus and a resolution by the full Senate after it convenes in January. Ms. Warren's role on the banking committee would give her greater influence over laws and regulations affecting the financial industry. A noted consumer advocate, Ms. Warren had harsh words for Wall Street throughout her campaign, and she is expected to support tougher controls on the industry. Her appointment to the banking committee was widely expected. While many in the banking industry aren't thrilled with the prospect, they're publicly putting on a positive face. "I think the concerns about her are overstated," said Scott Talbott, senior vice president for public policy at the Financial Services Roundtable, an industry group. In the areas where we don't agree, she's always maintained an open mind. As for her policy ideas, the senator-elect has largely focused on consumer-facing lenders, rather than the Wall Street firms that cater to institutions. She was the champion of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new agency created under the Dodd-Frank Act. But in the Senate, her scope will expand. Ms. Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has supported a simpler, stronger Volcker Rule, the regulation that bars big banks from betting with their own money. She has also pushed for a new version of the Glass-Steagall Act, the now-repealed law that kept commercial banks out of securities businesses. Her rhetoric, too, has been heated. "Wall Street C.E.O.'s - the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs - still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them," Ms. Warren said in her speech at the Democratic National Convention in September. In addition to Ms. Warren, two other Democrats were named to the banking panel. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota were approved by the steering committee.