Washington —
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh faced intense grilling Wednesday from Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who demanded to know whether he had questioned a colleague about reports that she attended a meeting with bankers last month that may have violated Fed rules, fueling a heated exchange about ethics.
The senator asked Warsh repeatedly during his second day of monetary policy testimony on Capitol Hill if he had asked Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman whether she had attended the meeting.
“Did you ask?” Warren asked Warsh several times. “The tone that you are setting is one that seems to invite corruption.”
In the days leading up to every Fed policy meeting, central bank officials are barred from speaking publicly or privately about monetary policy during what is known as the “blackout period,” which also stretches for a few days after each meeting. The Wall Street Journal reported that Bowman on June 17, just hours after the Fed’s June meeting, attended a private gathering of bankers hosted by Bank of America, in which she talked about interest rates. CNN has not verified independently.
