Overview
- Kevin Warsh, whose prepared testimony was released Monday, says monetary policy will remain strictly independent and argues the central bank should stay within its legal mandate.
- The Senate Banking Committee will question Warsh Tuesday, but Sen. Thom Tillis says he will withhold his vote until the Powell investigation ends, a move that could deadlock the 13–11 panel.
- A federal judge in early April threw out two Justice Department subpoenas related to the probe, and prosecutors have appealed as the D.C. U.S. attorney continues investigative efforts.
- Jerome Powell says he will serve as chair pro tempore after his May 15 term ends if no successor is confirmed, and President Trump has threatened to fire him for doing so, setting up a possible court fight over removal authority.
- Warsh has pressed to shrink the Fed’s roughly $6.7 trillion balance sheet and any change to interest rates would still require a majority of the central bank’s 12-member policy committee.