Fed Chair Nominee Kevin Warsh Says Central Bank Will Remain ‘Strictly Independent’
President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, said in his confirmation hearing Tuesday that the central bank will remain “strictly independent” and rejected he will be the president’s “sock puppet.”
“I am committed to ensuring that the conduct of monetary policy remains strictly independent,” he told the Senate Banking Committee.
Warsh was grilled by senators about his independence should he be confirmed, particularly considering Trump’s demands that interest rates are cut soon to boost economic activity, as well as the stock market.
He claimed that Trump “never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, period, and nor would I ever agree to do so if he had.”
The president, however, was asked earlier on Tuesday if he would be disappointed if Warsh did not push for lower rates as soon as he joined the Fed. “I would,” Trump said.
Warsh was asked about the comment during the hearing but again committed to maintaining the central bank’s independence.
Some Democrats, however, are openly skeptical. Senator Elizabeth Warren accused him of “sucking up” to the president to “snag his dream job.”
.@SenWarren on Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh: “Evidently, he learned his lesson. This time around he sucked up to Donald Trump to snag his dream job…the Senate should not be aiding and abetting Donald Trump’s illegal takeover of the Fed by installing his chosen sock puppet. ” pic.twitter.com/F0WYpG5AnL
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 21, 2026
“The Senate should not be aiding and abetting Donald Trump’s illegal takeover of the Fed by installing his chosen sock puppet,” she said.
Warsh also refused to answer questions from warren about $100 million in assets that he has not disclosed publicly. NBC News noted that he also rejected answering whether the money had ties to the Trump family, foreign governments or Jeffrey Epstein.
Warsh said he has an agreement with the government’s ethics office to divest his assets if he’s confirmed and is in compliance with ethics rules.
The potential confirmation gridlock comes at a time when the Fed is already under scrutiny for its approach to interest rate policy and inflation management. Investors and economists are closely monitoring whether political disagreements in Washington could spill over into monetary policy decision-making, according to Reuters.
Tensions are also running high due to Trump’s animosity towards current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump said last week that he would fire Powell if he remained at the central bank after his term as chair expires next month.
In an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, Trump was asked about Powell’s position after May 15, 2026, the date his term as Fed chair ends. Powell has already indicated he does not plan to leave immediately if no successor has been confirmed and has suggested he could continue serving in another role at the central bank. Trump’s response was blunt: “Well then, I’ll have to fire him, OK?”
