NEW YORK, April 22– Kevin Warsh, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Federal Reserve chairman, said Tuesday that he would not lower interest rates solely because the president demanded it during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.
“The president never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, and nor would I agree to it if he had. I will be an independent actor if confirmed as chair of the Federal Reserve,” Warsh told the committee.
In response to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s criticism of being a “sock puppet” for Trump to further his economic agenda, Warsh vowed to “ensure the conduct of monetary policy remains strictly independent.”
“I don’t believe the independence of monetary policy is threatened when elected officials state their views on rates,” Warsh told the committee. “Fed independence is up to the Fed.”
Trump has repeatedly called for lower interest rates and criticized current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell ever since the beginning of his second term.
Just hours before Warsh’s confirmation hearing, Trump said in an interview with CNBC that he would be disappointed if his choice for Fed chair did not immediately cut interest rates.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis said that he planned to block Warsh’s nomination until the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia drops a criminal investigation into Powell that is tied to the multibillion-dollar renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters.
However, Trump signaled no intention of directing the Justice Department to end the investigation. To win confirmation, Warsh must earn a majority of votes on the committee, which comprises 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
Powell’s term as Fed chair ends on May 15, but he said he would remain in the position until his successor is confirmed. But Trump threatened last Wednesday that he would fire Powell if he stayed on.(Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
