Warren Delivers Opening Remarks At Warsh's First Committee Hearing as Fed Chair

Warren Delivers Opening Remarks At Warsh's First Committee Hearing as Fed Chair

You were confirmed by the Senate in the tightest vote for a Fed Chair in U.S. history. So you face a steep uphill battle to show that you have the independence needed to run America's central bank to serve American families, not the President or his billionaire friends."

Watch hearing live here

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, delivered opening remarks at a Committee hearing entitled, "The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress," during which Kevin Warsh, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, presented testimony.

Transcript of Ranking Member Warren's opening statement below:

Welcome back, Mr. Warsh. About two months ago, you appeared in front of this Committee for your nomination hearing and refused to answer basic factual questions, I assume because you were very afraid of contradicting President Trump. Your answers during the hearing were so troubling that this Committee had a party-line vote for Fed Chair for the first time ever. You were confirmed by the Senate in the tightest vote for a Fed Chair in U.S. history. So you face a steep uphill battle to show that you have the independence needed to run America's central bank to serve American families, not the President or his billionaire friends.

President Trump's corruption and failed economic agenda is raising costs across the board. Inflation is now above 4%, its highest level in 3 years, and it's outpacing wage growth. That means, in the Trump economy, families are falling behind, with less to spend every day that goes by. High interest rates are making mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards more expensive. More and more people are falling behind on their bills.

Ninety-five percent of Americans believe the U.S. is suffering an affordability crisis-while President Trump continues to call affordability a hoax, telling Americans their concerns about the cost of living are made up. Lower interest rates would provide some relief to families. But the Fed hasn't lowered interest rates - and may be forced to raise rates even more - because of one man: President Trump.

The President knows this too. So instead of changing course, he wants to take over the Fed. Installing you as Fed Chair was a critical part of his plan. You reportedly told the president exactly what he wanted to hear in your Oval Office interview, and Trump confirmed it afterward, saying, quote, "(Warsh) thinks you have to lower interest rates."

Now for your part, you were the only member at the last Fed meeting who declined to submit economic projections - projections that are supposed to show how the Fed's decisions under your leadership are likely to affect American consumers and workers. People might look at that and conclude that you don't want to tell the truth about inflation under Trump.

Trump may have you in his pocket, but he will not stop until he controls the Fed, and he just needs one more seat to do that. That's why he has had his Department of Justice open bogus criminal investigations into both Governor Lisa Cook and former Chair Jerome Powell. And that is why he tried to illegally fire Fed Governor Cook. His own Supreme Court recently blocked the firing, at least for now. But Trump has vowed to try again to fire Governor Cook.

This fight for control is over interest rates, but it is also about corruption.

President Trump likes to play King, and the Fed offers many appealing opportunities for the President to enrich himself while he fleeces the American people.

Start with crypto. Trump's family crypto company is World Liberty Financial, the centerpiece of the crypto enterprise that let him rake in $1.4 billion in 2025. Now it is currently applying for a bank charter. After that charter is granted by Trump's own bank regulator, World Liberty could seek special privileges from the Federal Reserve to juice its profits, like a master account that would give Trump's own company direct access to Fed's core payment rails.

There's more. If he can control the Fed, Trump could threaten to revoke banks' access to Fed services if they refuse to do his bidding. He could hijack the Fed's extraordinary powers to bail out financial markets, making sure he rewards his friends and punishes his enemies in a crisis.

And you better bet that Trump will turbocharge the Wall Street deregulation already underway, juicing megabank profits and CEO bonuses, knowing that American taxpayers will be on the hook once again if there's another devastating financial crash.

Congress and the American people will be watching closely whether you serve the public or become yet another instrument of Donald Trump's corruption.

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