Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh mocked Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s question during his Tuesday confirmation hearing.
President Donald Trump nominated Warsh to replace Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, whose term officially ends on May 15. During the Senate Banking Committee’s confirmation hearing, Warren challenged Warsh to name one aspect of Trump’s “agenda” that he disagreed with, which prompted the nominee to troll the Senator right to her face with a sarcastic reply.
“Name one aspect of President Trump’s economic agenda with which you disagree … I’m asking for something you disagree with Donald Trump on,” Warren said. “Just one, just one little place where you disagree with Donald Trump.”
“Well, I do have a disagreement, actually, Senator, with the president,” Warsh said. “I think even this morning, he said that he thought I was out of central casting. I think central casting, I’d look older, grayer, maybe show up here with a cigar of sorts.”
“Quite adorable,” Warren replied. “But, you know, we need a Fed chair who is independent. That’s the only way we preserve the independence of the Federal Reserve. If you can’t answer these questions, you don’t have the courage, and you don’t have the independence.”
Warsh highlighted the importance of the Federal Reserve’s independence during his hearing, adding that he will not be Trump’s “human sock puppet” and will refuse to take orders from the president on interest rates. Trump, who originally nominated Powell in 2017, has tried to pressure Powell into slashing interest rates during his second term.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia opened a criminal probe into Powell in January over the skyrocketing cost of renovating the Federal Reserve headquarters, which exceeded previous estimates of $2.5 billion. Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis vowed to block Warsh’s nomination until the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismisses the criminal inquiry into Powell.
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