Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh pushes past Democrats' criticism as they question Trump ties, new task forces

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh deflected Democratic criticism during congressional testimony, facing questions about his ties to President Trump and an AI task force led by Marc Andreessen. Warsh maintained a hawkish stance on inflation and defended his early reforms, including task forces on communications and AI, while Democrats expressed concerns about transparency and independence.

A parade of Democratic lawmakers tested out potential lines of criticism against Kevin Warsh this week, a preview of the months to come. For now, the new Federal Reserve chair has largely deflected the complaints. Many of the Democrats' critiques were centered around a perceived closeness with President Trump. They also questioned some of Warsh's early efforts atop the central bank, especially plans for an AI task force led by billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. "You face an uphill battle" to show you are independent, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Wednesday. Trump has long pressed for lower interest rates. But Warsh struck a hawkish tone throughout his testimony. He repeatedly promised to focus on inflation first and said he's "ready" for any presidential pressure that could follow from the stance. At one point, Warsh described himself as "an independent guy for an independent job." Democrats also dug into issues like Warsh's skepticism of forward guidance and whether he properly divested his financial assets. Warsh often pushed past the critiques by noting he's only been on the job for seven weeks and returning to his inflation-focused message. The overall effect was a round of back-and-forth that was markedly less dramatic than what's often seen between Trump's picks and the Democratic opposition during their Capitol Hill visits. Warsh's testimony was presented before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. "In Washington, the arrival of President Donald Trump's money man has gone better than feared," Yardeni Research president Edward Yardeni said in a note. Question about task forces and forward guidance plans Warsh recently launched task forces to look into how the Fed can improve its communications, inflation framework, and more. On Tuesday, Rep. Nydia Velázquez of New York said the move to "offload Fed objectives to clandestine task forces with no clear transparency calls your motivations into question." Warsh defended them as part of a "commitment to reform." On Wednesday, three Democratic senators — Tina Smith of Minnesota, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware — all returned to the issue. They questioned the AI-focused "productivity and jobs" task force that's being led by Andreessen. "Can you understand why a task force that is led by people in large part who are likely to get richer by AI might not be the most credible people to folks on the ground?" Smith asked. Warsh pushed back, saying that the panel only makes recommendations and that the central bank will be the final "decider" on any changes. Another discussion point was Warsh's skepticism of forward guidance. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan worried that less public guidance would lead to Fed information only going to the well-connected. Sen. Warren concurred and accused Warsh of not wanting to "tell the truth" about inflation. Warsh pledged that there would be "no special dispensations for the well-connected." The central bank will release everything about a decision when they happen, he said. Other issues — and a smattering of Democratic praise Warsh parried off various other issues during the two days of testimony. Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, assailed President Trump but noted that Warsh has agreed to divest his financial assets. Warsh nodded in agreement and later pledged to fully disclose how he divested his assets during the next required reporting period. He later pushed back on California Democrat Brad Sherman's concern that the Fed might step in to aid the cryptocurrency sector or President Trump's own crypto efforts. "We do not want to be in the bailout business, full stop," Warsh said. His performance even garnered some guarded praise from Democrats. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia noted at one point that he didn't vote for Warsh for confirmation, but predicted that "we're going to find a lot of common ground to work together." "I haven't given up on you, I haven't given up on your Democratic colleagues," Warsh quipped in response. By law, hearings like this week's must be held twice a year. House Financial Services chair French Hill joked at the end of the first day that "this is season one, episode one of Warsh at the Fed." "And we look forward to episode two." Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.