Sen elizabeth warren Kevin Wersh was grilled about his financial assets and his willingness to break with President Donald Trump in a contentious hearing on the future of the Federal Reserve’s leadership.
“Donald Trump has made clear he does not want an independent Fed,” the Massachusetts Democrat said, shortly after expressing dissatisfaction with the Fed chair nominee’s characterization of how he would sell more than $100 million of financial assets if confirmed by the Senate. “And he’s made it clear that you’re his sock puppet.”
Warsh will face an uphill battle in securing Democratic support for his bid to replace Jerome Powell as head of the central bank. Questions about whether the next president will be able to maintain his distance from Trump on policy have permeated the entire selection process.
And while Wersch’s background as a former Fed governor and alliance with Wall Street leaders may have reassured some lawmakers, she did not give Warren any concrete examples of how she might break with the president on policy.
“The Federal Reserve has gone out of its way in recent years,” he said, responding to a question from Warren about whether he disagrees with any components of the president’s economic agenda. “It’s not something I’m willing to do.”
Warren had telegraphed that he was deeply concernedWarsh’s financial paperwork, which revealed assets of more than $100 million in myriad private investment funds, as well as stakes in tech startups like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and prediction markets platform PolyMarket, were also revealed.
While Warsh has signed an agreement to sell “almost all” of those assets within 90 days of being confirmed and before taking the oath of office, Warren declined to provide details on those assets and how they would be divided.
“It is important that the next chair has no financial conflicts – none at all,” he said.
