Kevin Warsh, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for Chair of the Federal Reserve, testifies during his Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Tuesday, in Washington D.C. President Trump nominated Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, to replace Jerome Powell amid bipartisan concerns over the Justice Department's criminal investigation into the central bank's current leader. Getty Images via AFP-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump's choice to lead the U.S. Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, stressed Tuesday that he would not be controlled by the president as he fielded questions on his assets and central bank independence during his confirmation hearing.
Warsh, a former Fed governor, was quick to emphasize his commitment to "ensuring that the conduct of monetary policy remains strictly independent."
He added that he would "absolutely not" be Trump's puppet — an accusation some critics have lobbed at him amid Trump's intense pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates.
"The president never asked me to predetermine, commit, fix, decide on any interest rate decision in any of our discussions, nor would I ever agree to do so," Warsh said.
Warsh also took aim at the Fed for missing its inflation target since the Covid-19 pandemic, warning that inflation becomes tougher to rein in once it takes hold.
The tense hearing before the Senate Banking Committee is closely watched as it marks a key hurdle that Warsh must overcome to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends on May 15.
It comes as Trump has escalated criticism of the Fed for not cutting interest rates more aggressively.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump told CNBC he would be disappointed if the new Fed chair did not lower rates swiftly, and again slammed Powell for renovation costs at the bank's headquarters.
"We should have the lowest interest rate in the world," Trump said.
Source: Korea Times News
