Warsh: Trump Never Asked Me to Promise Rate Cuts

Kevin Warsh told senators he won't be anyone's "sock puppet." The question now is whether he'll even get a vote. During his confirmation hearing Tuesday, President Trump's nominee to run the Federal Reserve repeatedly vowed to keep interest-rate decisions insulated from the White House, even though Trump has said he'd be unhappy if Warsh doesn't move quickly to cut rates, the Washington Post reports.

• "The president never asked me to commit to interest rate cuts," Warsh told the Senate Banking Committee, adding that monetary policy must remain "strictly independent" while suggesting the president should have a greater say over the Fed's regulatory agenda. CNBC reports that Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, referring to a December Wall Street Journal report that Trump had sought assurances from Warsh that he would cut rates, said, "Someone here is lying then. It's either you or President Trump."
• Warsh said that if confirmed as Fed chair, fighting inflation would be his top priority, the AP reports. "Congress tasked the Fed with the mission to ensure price stability, without excuse or equivocation, argument or anguish," he said. "Inflation is a choice, and the Fed must take responsibility for it."

• Warsh's path is blocked for now by a member of Trump's own party, the Post reports. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is refusing to advance any Fed nominee until the Justice Department ends a criminal probe tied to the central bank—an investigation a federal judge has described as a pretext to pressure current Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates or leave. During the hearing, Tillis called it the work of "some US attorney with a dream" and said it undermines the Fed's autonomy.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that Warsh dodged a question about the probe from Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, saying the inquiry is "pending before the courts." He added that he has a "ton of confidence in the court's ability to make a final resolution."

• During the hearing, Democrats zeroed in on both independence and money. Sen. Elizabeth Warren labeled Warsh a Trump "sock puppet" and pressed him on opaque private funds in his financial disclosures, asking whether they involve Trump-linked, Chinese-controlled, or Jeffrey Epstein–related investments.
• Warsh declined to detail the holdings but pledged to divest if confirmed. A former Morgan Stanley banker and crisis-era Fed governor, Warsh would likely be the wealthiest modern Fed chair, with assets topping $100 million, including crypto and AI stakes.
• He promised to shrink the Fed's balance sheet gradually and signaled he'd pull back on the central bank's habit of flagging its rate plans far in advance. When asked if there were any aspects of Trump's economic agenda he disagreed with, he said he did not agree with Trump's description of him as "out of central casting," joking that he would be older and grayer if that were the case, the Journal reports.