Ms. Warren may be going back to Washington.

Elizabeth Warren, who set up the Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau but wasn't nominated by President Obama to run it, this week hiredtwo former advisers to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to explorethe possibility of her seeking the Democratic nomination for Senatefrom the Bay State.

Warren, a professor at Harvard Law School, hinted of her interest in a posting on aliberal blog in which she wrote: “It is time for me to think hardabout what role I can play next to help rebuild a middle class thathas been hacked at, chipped at, and pulled at for more than ageneration – and that is under greater strain every day.”