Senators grilled Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, over his asset disclosures and independence from the president’s decision-making.
The U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee held a confirmation hearing for Warsh on his plans to reform the nation’s central bank and how he would respond to pressure from Trump to cut interest rates.
Warsh said he valued the independence of the monetary agency and would keep it at the forefront of his ongoing leadership strategy.
“I’m committed to ensuring that the conduct of monetary policy remains strictly independent, equally committed to work with the administration and Congress on non-monetary matters that are part of the Fed’s remit,” Warsh said.
Bipartisan senators questioned whether Warsh would give in to pressure from the president to cut interest rates. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked Warsh if Trump told him to cut interest rates when offered the position of chairman.
Warsh said the president never asked him to make a particular interest rate decision. However, he admitted his position on cutting interest rates is similar to Trump’s.
“The president never asked me to predetermine, commit, fix, decide on any interest rate decision in any of our discussions,” Warsh said.
Trump and the current chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, have publicly feuded over cutting interest rates. Powell has largely maintained interest rates at typical levels in recent years.
