The Wall Street Journal editorial board published an editorial Thursday, slamming Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., after she encouraged customers of Chase bank to close their accounts.
During a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Tlaib encouraged consumers to remove their deposits from J.P. Morgan in mass because the company’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, dismissed her demand to stop any current and future investments in fossil fuel projects.
The Wall Stree Journal editors called Tlaib’s demands a “financial threat” for Americans.
“The political left increasingly claims climate change is an imminent threat to global financial stability and demands regulators do something about it. Well, if we’re talking about financial threats, how about the Democratic Congresswoman who called for a bank run to protest an institution’s fossil-fuel investments?” they wrote .”Apparently banks now need to bow to Democratic policy priorities or risk lawmakers inciting a bank run,” they continued.
Dimon, when asked during Wednesday’s hearing if he would commit to immediately halting all financing of oil and gas projects, told Tlaib, “Absolutely not, and that would be the road to hell for America.”
Tlaib responded by condemning Dimon and encouraged Americans to close their bank accounts in protest because of Dimon’s unrelated stance on President Biden’s student loan handout.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Sir, you know what, everybody that got relief from student loans [who] has a bank account with your bank should probably take out their account and close their account,” she said.
The editors joked that “the good news” is that “the vast majority of Mr. Dimon’s customers probably don’t take Ms. Tlaib any more seriously than anyone else does.”
The editorial argued that Tlaib and far-left politicians like her are more dangerous to the financial system than climate change itself.
“This exchange and the broader point of Mr. Dimon’s testimony Wednesday highlight the extent to which climate-obsessed lawmakers and regulators pose a greater threat to the economy and financial system than changes in the climate,” the editorial stated. “It’s a relief that some business leaders still are willing to say so.”
