Overview
- Kevin Warsh, who is President Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, told senators during Tuesday’s Banking Committee hearing that he made no promises on rate cuts and would act independently.
- Sen. Thom Tillis said he will block a committee vote until the DOJ ends its criminal probe of Chair Jerome Powell over cost overruns at the Fed’s headquarters renovation, a probe prosecutors pursued with a recent attempted visit to Fed offices.
- Wall Street notes that Warsh did not argue for near‑term rate cuts and that he outlined a “regime change” at the Fed, including using different inflation gauges and scaling back “forward guidance,” the Fed’s practice of signaling its next moves to markets.
- Pressed on conflicts of interest, Warsh said he has an agreement with the Office of Government Ethics to sell virtually all of his more than $100 million in assets if confirmed.
- Powell’s term ends May 15, and he has said he would serve as chair pro tempore if no successor is confirmed, a scenario that could unsettle borrowing costs as investors weigh the Fed’s independence and the path for rates.