US President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Federal Reserve chair insisted to lawmakers Tuesday that he would uphold the central bank’s independence.
During his congressional confirmation hearing, Kevin Warsh responded “absolutely not” when asked if he would be the president’s “sock puppet,” adding that Trump had not asked him to commit to interest rate cuts.
Trump has repeatedly clashed with current chair Jerome Powell over his refusal to lower rates, prompting pushback from some politicians and business leaders.
“What we care most about is the independence of the Federal Reserve,” Goldman Sachs’ president told Semafor last week. Several senators on Tuesday poured scorn on Warsh’s contention that the AI boom could clear the way for rate cuts, Semafor’s DC team noted.