The Senate Banking Committee is planning to hold a confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, President Trump‘s nominee for Federal Reserve chair, as early as the week of April 13, according to a report from Punchbowl News citing two sources familiar with the matter. The hearing date is described as fluid, with the final timing contingent on Warsh completing and submitting all required paperwork to the committee. A mid-April hearing would provide a clearer path toward Warsh’s confirmation before the current chair’s term expires.
Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell‘s term is set to end on May 15. Powell has previously stated he intends to remain in the role until his successor is officially confirmed. The planned April hearing is seen as an important step in ensuring a smooth transition of leadership at the central bank.
Warsh, who is 55 years old, previously served on the Fed’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, having been nominated to that position by former President George W. Bush. His tenure on the board coincided with the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent Great Recession. This time, Warsh is being considered for the top leadership role at the institution.
Warsh has signaled he would pursue significant changes if confirmed, describing his approach as pushing for “regime change” in how the Fed manages interest rate policy and its balance sheet. Speaking on CNBC‘s “Squawk Box” in July of last year, he criticized the Fed’s reluctance to cut rates, calling it “quite a mark against them.” His stated positions suggest a departure from the current policy direction under Powell.
The nomination has encountered resistance from within the Senate. Senator Thom Tillis has vowed to oppose any Fed nominees and intends to block Warsh’s confirmation until a Department of Justice investigation into Powell is resolved. That probe, opened in January, concerns expenses related to a multi-year renovation project at Fed office buildings.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has also pushed back against the nomination, sending a strongly worded letter to Warsh last Wednesday. Warren accused him of having learned “nothing” from what she characterized as failures during his earlier time at the Fed, including his handling of the 2008 financial crisis. She further argued that Warsh would act as a “rubber stamp for President Trump’s Wall Street First Agenda.”
Warren also pointed to Warsh’s professional background before joining the Fed, noting that he spent seven years as a mergers and acquisitions executive at Morgan Stanley prior to his appointment under the Bush administration. She suggested this history explained what she described as his eagerness to support Wall Street interests, including through taxpayer-assisted megamergers. The opposition from both Republican and Democratic senators underscores the political complexity surrounding the nomination.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
