Republican Congressman cluelessly advises Wall Street banks to "neuter" Senator Elizabeth Warren

One Republican Congressman told a room full of bankers that they need to "neuter" Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Per Politico reporter Zachary Warmbrodt, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a member of the House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee, also called Warren the "Darth Vader" of the financial world. 

Warren, a former law professor, came to national prominence for pushing for more oversight on the big banks after the 2008 financial crisis.

Luetkemeyer, it appeared, was giving friendly advice to the bankers. 

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His comments came at a panel on how bankers must adapt to the changing political landscape on the last day of the American Banking Association's Government Relations Summit, in which bankers get the chance to schmooze and talk with members of Congress and regulators.

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Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO), who was sitting on the ABA panel with Luetkemeyer, called his comments on neutering Warren "misplaced," according to Politico.

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Luetkemeyer and Warren are far from the friendliest Congressional colleagues — especially because Luetkemeyer is a friend to Wall Street while Warren is one of its biggest and loudest critics. 

In February, Warren criticized a Luetkemeyer-sponsored bill that would make it tougher for the Department of Justice and regulators to investigate big banks. 

“In this legal system, even after huge companies plead guilty to felonies, law enforcement officials are so timid that they don’t even bring charges against individuals who work there. That’s one system,” Warren said, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “The second system is for everyone else. In this second system, whoever breaks the law can be held accountable. Government enforcement isn’t timid here — it’s aggressive, consequences be damned. Just ask the families of Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray and Michael Brown about how aggressive they are.”

Warren's comments were apparently enough to touch off a war with Luetkemeyer, who lashed back. 

Luetkemeyer is strongly conservative, putting his politics on the opposite end of the spectrum from Warren's. They have ample reason for disagreement because both are active on financial issues. 

Later on Wednesday, the American Banking Association will host a Women's Leadership Forum on how to empower women in finance. Luetkemeyer is not scheduled to attend.

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