US President Donald Trump will hold a swearing‑in ceremony on Friday for the new Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh — an unusual step, since Fed chairs are not normally sworn in at the White House, and presidents usually don't attend, given that the Fed is meant to be politically independent.
But some, particularly Democrats, question how independent Warsh will be as head of the world's most powerful central bank.
Among them is Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who described Warsh as Trump's "sock puppet” during his Senate confirmation hearing in April. Stressing that independence requires courage, Warren asked Warsh: "Let's check out your independence and your courage. We'll start easy. Mr. Warsh, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?”
Warsh refused to answer directly, saying instead: "We try to keep politics, if I'm confirmed, out of the Federal Reserve.”
"The hearing failed to dispel doubts about his independence," Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors and former economist at the Federal Reserve, told DW.
