Committee Hearing for Fed Chair Nominee is Expected Around Mid-April

The Senate Banking Committee is reportedly planning to hold its hearing on the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair as soon as the week of April 13, according to a report from Punchbowl News citing two sources familiar with the matter.

In a report on Sunday, Punchbowl’s sources said the hearing date is “fluid” and that the final deadline depends on Warsh submitting all of his paperwork to the banking committee.

Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term is set to end on May 15, but he has previously said he will remain chair until his successor is officially confirmed. A nomination hearing in mid-April helps chart a more visible path to Warsh’s successful confirmation.

Warsh to push for change at Fed

Warsh’s first stint at the Fed was between 2006 and 2011, when he served on the Board of Governors after being nominated by former President George W. Bush.

This time, Warsh is set for the top role, and the 55-year-old has said he would push for “regime change” in how the Fed conducts its policy on interest rates and balance sheet management.

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“Their hesitancy to cut rates, I think, is actually … quite a mark against them,” Warsh told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in July last year, adding:

“The specter of the miss they made on inflation, it has stuck with them. So one of the reasons why the president, I think, is right to be pushing the Fed publicly is we need regime change in the conduct of policy.”

However, Warsh’s nomination has faced political resistance. Senator Thom Tillis has said he would oppose Fed nominees until a Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into Powell is resolved.

In January, the DOJ opened an investigation into Powell over the expenses relating to a multi-year renovation project at Fed office buildings.

Trump’s pick for the Fed chair has also been met with pushback from Senator Elizabeth Warren, who sent a strongly-worded letter to Warsh last Wednesday.

Senator Warren accused Warsh of having learned “nothing” from his “failures” during his previous stint at the Fed, which included the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession. 

Warren also said Warsh will ultimately serve as a “rubber stamp for President Trump’s Wall Street First Agenda.”

“Your eagerness to bail out Wall Street, including through taxpayer-assisted megamergers, was not surprising, given the seven years you spent as a Morgan Stanley mergers and acquisitions executive prior to joining the George W. Bush administration,” Warren said.

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