U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for a former Trump-appointed banking regulator to be dismissed from the global financial watchdog, warning he is putting the world’s economic stability at risk. Randal Quarles, who was vice chair of supervision at the U.S. Federal Reserve from 2017 to 2021 where he oversaw a wave of deregulation, was last month chosen to lead a worldwide review of post-2008 financial crisis reforms for the Financial Stability Board. In a letter addressed to FSB Chair Andrew Bailey, obtained by POLITICO, Warren blamed Quarles’ deregulatory measures for the collapse of three U.S. banks including Silicon Valley Bank in 2023 and warned he would bring the same mindset to global standards. “Mr. Quarles spent his tenure as a top financial regulator in the United States weakening safeguards for megabanks at the expense of financial stability and the American public,” said Warren, a former U.S. presidential hopeful who is the most senior Democrat on the Senate banking committee. “It would be deeply troubling if this FSB review became a mechanism to coordinate the easing of post-2008 rules across the globe.” She said Quarles’ background “demonstrates that he is the wrong person to lead such a review.” She called on Bailey to “consider terminating the appointment and conduct your own search for a suitable replacement.” Bailey, who is governor of the Bank of England, became FSB chair after Quarles’ appointment. The warning came as the FSB, a global body that monitors and coordinates national financial regulations, issued new guidance on the regulation of nonbank financial groups, such as hedge funds. The guidance recommended capping the amount of borrowing these groups can do, but left up to national regulators to determine the details. ROLLING BACK SAFEGUARDS In the years following the 2008 global financial crisis, countries clubbed together and tasked the FSB with coordinating national regulators to prevent a similar crisis happening again. But in 2017, with momentum shifting back to deregulation, newly-elected U.S. president Donald Trump nominated Quarles to head up the Fed’s banking supervision arm. Warren’s main criticism of Quarles relates to his implementation of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which gave the Fed discretion to apply tougher regulatory standards to large banks with assets of between $100 billion and $250 billion. “Under the law, Mr. Quarles had discretion to apply these rules … [but] he and other Trump-installed regulators refused to do so,” she said. She said Quarles also led the rollback of rules prohibiting banks from making “risky proprietary bets with customer deposits and from investing in or sponsoring hedge funds or private equity funds.” Both of these contributed to the collapse in 2023 of Silicon Valley Bank, she said. As well as calling for Quarles’ termination, the letter asks whether his appointment is an indication that the FSB sees “this review as an opportunity to coordinate the easing of post-2008 financial safeguards.” Neither Quarles nor the FSB immediately responded to a request for comment.

A month out from his return to the White House, Donald Trump is hard at work announcing who will represent the United States and his new administration across the Atlantic. With about 200 global ambassador posts to be filled, all of whom must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, there’s still a long way to go. But already a pattern is emerging: The president-elect is rewarding his allies, donors and relatives with cushy foreign envoy gigs in Europe. While Trump isn’t the only U.S. leader to have followed this path, some of his choices are more colorful than most, to say the least. FRANCE: THE EX-CON Trump announced 70-year-old real estate mogul Charles Kushner as his ambassador to France. If the name rings a bell, it’s because Kushner is the father of Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and was a senior adviser to Trump during his first term. The elder Kushner was convicted by a federal jury in 2005 of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering and served two years in prison. Trump pardoned him in 2020. “He is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Together, we will strengthen America’s partnership with France, our oldest Ally, & one of our greatest!” Charles Kushner (C) was convicted by a federal jury in 2005 of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering and served two years in prison. Trump pardoned him in 2020. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Gérard Araud, who was France’s top envoy to the U.S. during Trump’s first term, blasted Trump and Kushner on social media, calling the appointment part of an “insanity of nominations by Trump” that demonstrated “total contempt for human respect, custom and the law.” UNITED KINGDOM: THE BANKER Trump picked fellow billionaire Warren Stephens to be the American emissary to the U.K. “Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies.” Stephens, a 67-year-old Arkansas investment banker, donated $1 million to Trump’s campaign over the summer. But he was not always such a Trump loyalist: He spent millions in support of efforts to stop Trump from clinching the Republican nomination in 2016. In 2017, The Guardian reported on a trove of leaked documents that revealed Stephens co-owned a company being investigated for breaking federal laws. GREECE: THE EX Former Fox News host and prosecutor Kimberly Guilfoyle isTrump’s pick for the next U.S. ambassador to Greece. Calling Guilfoyle a “close friend and ally,” Trump said she “is perfectly suited to foster strong bilateral relations with Greece, advancing our interests on issues ranging from defense cooperation to trade and economic innovation.” Guilfoyle, one of Trump’s staunchest and most high-profile supporters, was also engaged to the president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr. — though recent media reports suggest they may have split. Kimberly Guilfoyle, one of Trump’s staunchest and most high-profile supporters, was also engaged to the president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr. — though recent media reports suggest they may have split. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images In a 2015 segment on Fox News, Guilfoyle — who was formerly married to Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom — described the Greeks as “freeloaders” who need to be punished and compared them to an untrained dog that “pees on the rug” in reference to the country’s financial crisis. “It doesn’t matter if you made great yogurt,” she added. “I don’t care.” TURKEY: THE LOBBYIST Trump tapped Tom Barrack, a private equity billionaire and former senior adviser to the Trump campaign who faced legal scrutiny for his work on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, as the next U.S. envoy to Turkey. Barrack, an Arabic speaker born to Lebanese parents, worked in the Reagan administration in the 1980s and chaired the committee managing Trump’s 2017 presidential inauguration. He was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2021 on charges that he was lobbying the Trump campaign on behalf of the UAE while pursuing business deals valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars — but was acquitted by a jury on all charges in November 2022. “He is a well respected and experienced voice of reason to a wide range of thought leaders in both political and business circles,” Trump said, making no mention of Barrack’s ties to the UAE or the former case against him. Tom Barrack, an Arabic speaker born to Lebanese parents, worked in the Reagan administration in the 1980s and chaired the committee managing Trump’s 2017 presidential inauguration. | Sarah Yenesel/EPA-EFE AUSTRIA: THE KNIGHT Art Fisher, a real estate agent from North Carolina, is Trump’s choice to be Austria’s next U.S. ambassador.   Fisher runs his family’s real estate business in the western, largely rural part of the state. He is listed as a member of the Trumpettes, a group dedicated to electing Trump, and reportedly donated thousands to down ballot Republican candidates. “He has been consistently ranked as a top broker in the area, and the State of North Carolina, representing many of the most astute clients in America,” Trump wrote, adding Fisher “will make us proud in Austria!” According to his website, Fisher “was recently Knighted and has become a member of the Dynastic Order of the Royal House of Bourbon, an Order whose membership includes United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.” CROATIA: THE ART COLLECTOR Trump announced fine art collector Nicole McGraw as his pick for the next ambassador to Croatia, describing her as “a philanthropist, businesswoman, and World renowned art collector.” According to her website, McGraw holds a degree in Art History from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and received permission from the U.S. government to travel to Cuba in 2001, amassing a collection of Cuban art. She also lists herself as the CEO and co-founder of a firm “creating, distributing and monetizing NFTs (non-fungible tokens).” NFTs, a largely unregulated crypto industry, have attracted the attention of tax enforcers in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. — as well as Trump himself, who sells a line of NFTs and dubbed himself the “crypto president.” LUXEMBOURG: THE PRODUCER Luxembourg’s American envoy — if confirmed — will be Stacey Feinberg, a Trump campaign donor and an investor. “As a Producer of Broadway musicals, a motivational speaker, and a Board Member of the Women Founders Network, Stacey is committed to supporting women in launching their careers, and scaling their businesses to unprecedented success,” Trump wrote. Feinberg, who is the daughter of legendary sports agent Bob Woolf, is also credited as a producer for Jagged Little Pill, a musical inspired by the music of Alanis Morissette.  Her entertainment links gel with Trump’s affinity for appointing showbiz personalities to key posts, such as celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz to oversee the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon to serve as secretary of education.