Kevin Warsh wants you to know he’s not going to pull any fast ones. The Federal Reserve Chair told Congress on July 14 that markets will get “good advance notice” before the central bank touches its balance sheet, a $6.7 trillion portfolio that quietly shapes everything from Treasury yields to crypto liquidity.
What Warsh actually said
During his Congressional testimony, Warsh laid out a communication philosophy that reads like a deliberate contrast to previous Fed leadership styles. He made clear that interest rates remain the Fed’s primary policy lever, and that any balance sheet adjustments would go through what amounts to a public review process.
“If there were a change in balance sheet policy, we would preview it, explain it, debate it, and no changes in balance sheet policy would happen without good advance notice to the likes of this committee and broadly financial markets.”
Warsh, who took the helm in May 2026, has been reviewing the Fed’s balance sheet costs and reserve strategies since day one. He’s long advocated for a smaller, less interventionist balance sheet. The current $6.7 trillion figure is already well below the pandemic peak of nearly $9 trillion, but it’s still enormous by any historical standard.
