Senate Democrats move to stall Trump’s ‘absurd’ bid to install new Fed chair | Federal Reserve
Democrats have moved to stop Donald Trump’s push to gain more control over the US Federal Reserve, condemning the president’s “absurd” bid to appoint a new leader at the central bank, which is the target of criminal investigations.
Democratic lawmakers on the Senate banking committee called on Republican leaders on Thursday to delay the planned confirmation hearing for financial executive and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, whom Trump has nominated to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair.
One letter Eleven Democrats called on the banking committee chairman, Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, to postpone the hearing scheduled for Tuesday until investigations into Powell and current Fed governor Lisa Cook are closed.
Powell, whom the president has frequently and publicly chastised for his refusal to significantly cut interest rates, is facing a criminal investigation into the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters, which Powell has dismissed as an “excuse” for the Fed’s refusal to yield to Trump’s demands.
The Trump administration also tried to fire Cook, a Joe Biden appointee, for alleged mortgage fraud. Cook denied wrongdoing, and the president’s attempt to fire him reached the US supreme court; judges there were skeptical of Cook’s termination case.
In their letter to Scott, Democratic senators wrote: “It would be prima facie absurd to allow President Trump to hand-pick the next chairman of the Federal Reserve while the Justice Department is actively pursuing criminal investigations into not one but two members of the Federal Reserve board. It would also be inappropriate to pursue Mr. Warsh’s nomination because the President has openly threatened the federal judge who deemed the Justice Department’s investigation meritless.”
Meanwhile, Trump continued his criticism of D.C. district court chief judge James Boasberg, who blocked the U.S. justice department from taking testimony from Powell over his statements to Congress about the Fed’s renovation project.
“A mountain of evidence indicates that the government sent these subpoenas to pressure the chairman of the board to vote for lower interest rates or resign,” Boasberg said in his 27-page decision last month.
In response, Truth Social’s Trump called Boasberg “crazy, disgusting, twisted, and completely out of control.”
In a statement to the Guardian, the White House said it was focused on working with the Senate to “quickly confirm” Warsh to lead the Fed. “[His] His academic credentials, private sector success, and past experience on the Fed Board of Governors make him eminently qualified to restore trust and competence in the Fed’s decision-making processes,” said Kush Desai, a spokesman.
Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the banking committee, told reporters she still had “deep concerns” that Warsh, if confirmed, would be a “sock puppet” for the president.
Following her meeting with Warsh on Thursday, Warren also expressed concern about his involvement in the Epstein files, even though he “claimed to have zero knowledge of anything related to this.” Its inclusion in the files does not imply irregularity.
Numerous documents related to the deceased sex offender were released by the justice ministry in February including a list The article titled “St. Barth’s Christmas 2010”, which named Warsh and his wife Jane Lauder, was shared with Epstein.
Warsh’s candidacy also faces obstacles from within the president’s own party. Thom Tillis, the outgoing GOP senator who has the casting vote on the banking committee, has repeatedly said he would not support any nomination as long as the investigation into Powell continues.
Republican Senate majority leader John Thune even called on the justice to “complete” his investigation of the Fed chairman. “I think it would be in everyone’s interest to complete the investigation,” he said.
But Trump went on a lengthy tangent about the Fed’s revamp in an interview on Fox Business this week, claiming that the Fed “is probably corrupt, but what’s really going on is incompetence.” He seemed unimpressed by the prospect of Tillis blocking Warsh’s confirmation.
