WASHINGTON — A key House Democrat involved in anti-money- laundering reforms is in danger of losing the nomination in her party’s primary.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, is currently leading by less than 2 percentage points over her primary challenger, Suraj Patel, a progressive political activist and New York University professor. Thousands of absentee ballots are still to be counted for the race.
Maloney has represented New York's 12th congressional district, which includes portions of New York City, since 2013. She previously represented the 14th district of New York from 1993 until redistricting in 2013.
Maloney, who also chairs the House Oversight and Reform Committee, was the lead Democratic sponsor of the Corporate Transparency Act, a banking industry-backed money-laundering reform bill that would require companies to report their true owners at the point of incorporation to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The bill would relieve banks of the burden to report their customers’ beneficial owners to Fincen.
That bill passed the House in 2019. A bipartisan group of senators is still working to build support for a companion bill.
While Maloney fights to keep her seat, freshman Financial Services Committee Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also from New York, easily defeated her primary challenger, the former CNBC anchor Michele Caruso-Cabrera.
Caruso-Cabrera marketed herself as a more business-friendly Democrat to Ocasio-Cortez, who has championed a number of progressive proposals, including capping credit card interest rates at 15%.
