Fed pick Kevin Warsh

Kevin Warsh told senators on Tuesday that the Federal Reserve would stay independent on interest rates if he becomes chair. (banking.senate.gov) Warsh appeared before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. on April 21, after President Donald Trump nominated him on January 30 to replace Jerome Powell. Powell’s term as chair ends on May 15, 2026. (whitehouse.gov) (federalreserve.gov) In prepared remarks released before the hearing, Warsh said monetary policy must remain “strictly independent,” but he also said presidents and lawmakers stating views on rates does not by itself threaten that independence. He said the Fed should work with the White House and Congress on non-monetary matters within its remit. (politico.com) The fight is bigger than one personnel pick because the Fed sets short-term interest rates that shape mortgages, car loans and business borrowing across the economy. Trump has publicly pushed for lower rates, and senators from both parties used the hearing to test whether Warsh would resist that pressure. (cbsnews.com) (npr.org) Warsh’s own record adds to the scrutiny. He served as a Federal Reserve governor from 2006 to 2011, built a reputation then as an inflation hawk, and more recently argued that productivity gains from artificial intelligence could help lower inflation and make lower rates possible. (cbsnews.com) (foxbusiness.com) Democrats used the hearing and the run-up to it to question whether that shift tracks Trump’s preferences. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Warsh’s recent rate views show he would follow the president, while Warsh said inflation control would remain a core duty. (cnbc.com) (politico.com) Another complication has little to do with Warsh’s résumé. NPR reported that Sen. Thom Tillis said he would block a vote until the Justice Department drops its investigation into the Fed and Powell over cost overruns on the central bank’s headquarters renovation. (npr.org) That means Warsh’s path runs through both economics and Senate procedure. A majority of the 24-member Banking Committee must back him to send the nomination to the full Senate, where he needs a simple majority. (cbsnews.com) By the end of the hearing, Warsh was not just defending his qualifications. He was trying to convince senators that a Trump-picked chair can protect a central bank that is being pressed, in public, to cut rates. (reuters.com) (cbsnews.com)