Alexis Goldstein

Alexis Goldstein
Personal details
PartyDemocratic
EducationColumbia University (BS)
WebsiteCampaign website

Alexis Goldstein is a former financial regulatory expert for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and candidate for U.S. Representative in Maryland's 6th Congressional District.[1]

Early life

Goldstein graduated Magna Cum Laude from Columbia University with a degree in computer science.

Goldstein worked for 7 years on Wall Street as a programmer and analyst until quitting in 2010 to join the Occupy Wall Street protests.[2] As she later wrote for n+1, "On Wall Street, everyone was my competitor. They’d help me only if it helped them. At Occupy Wall Street, I am offered food, warmth, and support, because it's the right thing to do, and because joy breeds joy."[3][4]

Career

Goldstein began working on financial regulatory policy, climate finance, consumer and investor protection, and higher education for Americans for Financial Reform, until in 2021 when she joined the Open Markets Institute as a Financial Policy Director.[5] Goldstein testified to the Senate Banking Committee while in that role on the risks of stablecoins.[6][1] During this time she was also an advisory board member for the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard Law School.[5]

Goldstein has been published widely, mostly writing op-eds on financial topics from a progressive perspective. For example, some of her writing has advocated for canceling student debt, ending usury payday loans, a wealth tax, and stricter bank regulations. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times,[7][8] The Nation,[9] The Guardian,[10][11] Washington Post,[12] Bloomberg,[13] The Progressive,[14] The American Prospect,[15] and Truthout.[16][17] Goldstein is also a frequent guest on news programs, including NPR,[18] MSNBC,[19] The Week,[20] NBC News,[21] CNBC,[22] CNN,[23] Democracy Now,[24] The Daily Show,[25] and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher.[26] She was also featured in PBS Frontline's "Money, Power, and Wall Street" documentary.[27]

In 2021, Goldstein joined the Chief Technologist's Office at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a program manager.[28] Goldstein told WFED "The reason I joined government is it's the entity that can do the most good."[29] While at the CFPB, Goldstein was a member of the National Treasury Employees Union.[17][29]

Firing under the Trump administration

In early 2025, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff were at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters. A disagreement between the DOGE staff and Goldstein ensued about whether the visitors, who were not wearing the proper badges, could be in the facility and access sensitive consumer information. Later that day Goldstein was placed on administrative leave.[28][30][31]

In December 2025, CFPB management proposed firing Goldstein for "taking a vigilante approach" and "actions [that] put the Bureau off on the wrong foot with the new administration." On February 11, 2026 Goldstein was fired by the organization, one week before her contract would have ended anyway.[1][30]

2026 congressional campaign

On February 18, 2026 Goldstein announced her candidacy for the crowded field in Maryland's 6th Congressional District.[31]

Issues

Goldstein is on the left, and has frequently criticized the excesses of Wall Street, and also insufficient action from Democrats on issues such as standing up to President Donald Trump[32] and inequality,[17][11] saying "housing and education are issues of inequality that have solutions, not just stump-speech lines or YouTube-ready complaints. And if Democrats have any hope left in the midterms, they cannot be this shamefully muted on bold progressive policies that could dramatically improve the lives of voters who just happen to hold the keys to a majority of the United States Senate."

Bibliography

Books

  • Goldstein, Alexis (2012). "Learning CSS3 Animations and Transitions: A Hands-on Guide to Animating in CSS3 with Transforms, Transitions, Keyframes, and JavaScript." ISBN 978-0133064438.
  • Goldstein, Alexis; Lazaris, Louis; Weyl, Estelle (2011). "HTML5 & CSS3 for the Real World." ISBN 978-0980846904.

Other publications

References

  1. ^ a b c Williams, Claire (18 February 2026). "She was fired from the CFPB. Now she's running for Congress". American Banker. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Open Markets Institute Welcomes Alexis Goldstein as Financial Policy Director and Deepak Gupta as Board Member". Open Markets Institute. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  3. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (30 April 2012). "Leaving Wall Street". n+1. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  4. ^ Du, Lisa (7 May 2012). "Former Wall Streeter Explains Why She Joined Occupy Wall Street". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Panel Discussion: Crypto and Digital Assets: Helping to Ensure Investor Protection and Market Integrity in the Face of New Technologies" (PDF). SEC Investory Advisory Committee. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  6. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (14 December 2021). "Stablecoins: How Do They Work, How Are They Used, and What Are Their Risks?" (PDF). Senate Banking Committee. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  7. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (18 May 2021). "These Invisible Whales Could Sink the Economy". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  8. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (1 February 2021). "The Trouble With GameStop Is That the House Still Wins". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  9. ^ Goldstein, Alexis. "A Failed Whale, and How to Fix It". The Nation. No. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  10. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (30 June 2014). "Why is Washington still protecting the secret political power of corporations?". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  11. ^ a b Goldstein, Alexis (20 October 2014). "Do Democrats want to fix inequality? Or just complain about it?". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  12. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (12 June 2013). "The 'Intimidate the CTFC Act'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  13. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (26 August 2021). "Crypto Doesn't Have to Enable Tax Cheats". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  14. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (7 February 2020). "Build a Fairer Economy". The Progressive. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  15. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (5 December 2012). "Empower the Public". The American Prospect. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  16. ^ Goldstein, Alexis (5 May 2020). "The Fed Just Changed Its Own Rules to Bail Out the Fossil Fuel Industry". Alexis Goldstein. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  17. ^ a b c Goldstein, Alexis (2 September 2020). "Eviction Moratorium Delays Crisis Until January, When Tenants Will Owe Back Rent". Truthout. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  18. ^ Tatter, Grace; Chakrabarti, Meghna (2 February 2021). "What The GameStop Saga Reveals About Wall Street". WBUR. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  19. ^ Femia, Will (15 May 2013). "Ahead on the 3/15 Maddow show". MSNBC. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  20. ^ Cooper, Ryan (9 January 2015). "Ryan Grim and Alexis Goldstein interview Thomas Piketty". The Week. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  21. ^ "'Up w/Chris Hayes' for Saturday, October 6th, 2012". NBC News. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  22. ^ "Americans for Financial Reform's Alexis Goldstein on solutions post GameStop frenzy". CNBC. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  23. ^ Horowitz, Julia (1 February 2021). "1 big thing we still don't know about the GameStop rally". CNN. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  24. ^ "Sanders and Warren Openly Spar as Some Progressives Fear Fighting Could Help Centrist Democrats". Democracy Now. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  25. ^ "Meet the DOGE Layoff Victims That Elon Musk Deemed Wasteful". The Daily Show. No. 30 April 2025. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  26. ^ Real Time with Bill Maher. "Season 13, Episode 18". HBO. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  27. ^ Kirk, Michael; Gilmore, Jim; Wiser, Mike; Gaviria, Marcela; Smith, Martin (24 April 2012). "Money, Power and Wall Street". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  28. ^ a b "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Fires Alexis Goldstein for Documenting DOGE Meeting". Democracy Now. 12 February 2026. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  29. ^ a b Heckman, Jory (31 October 2025). "Federal workers stock food banks, as judges intervene on SNAP benefits". WFED. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  30. ^ a b Eidelson, Josh (12 February 2026). "CFPB Fires Employee Over a Confrontation With DOGE a Year Ago". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  31. ^ a b "CFPB Staffer Alexis Goldstein Fired for Confronting DOGE Members, Announces Run for Congress". Democracy Now. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  32. ^ Friedman, Drew (30 September 2025). "Under threat of RIFs and a government shutdown, some federal employees 'not buying it'". WFED. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
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