Democrats press Warsh to release reported conversations with Trump
The Hill · C · trust 58/100
Comments: by Sarah Davis - 08/20/26 11:55 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Sarah Davis - 08/20/26 11:55 AM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING A group of Democrats called for Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh to publicly disclose his communications with President Trump, citing recent reporting they said raises “sincere doubts” about the central bank’s independence from the White House under his leadership.
Warsh and Trump have spoken “repeatedly” since he was confirmed in April to replace former Chair Jerome Powell, according to The Wall Street Journal . The president has already pressured the Fed chief to consult him on interest rate decisions .
“It is critical that the Fed be transparent about these discussions to demonstrate its independence from the White House, a norm that you have said you intend to uphold,” the lawmakers wrote in the Wednesday letter .
“Instead, you have declined on multiple occasions to confirm your conversations with President Trump, raising sincere doubts about the independent conduct of monetary policy and your transparency with the public,” the group added.
Warsh stressed to lawmakers that the Fed would “remain independent on my watch” during three hours of testimony before the House Financial Services Committee last month.
“Fed independence is essential to the proper conduct of monetary policy, and I expect and will ensure that monetary policy is independent over the four years of my term,” he told Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) during the hearing. “And like you, I think it provides extraordinary benefits in everything we do and strengthens the role of the United States and the U.S. dollar and the global economy.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) led the request, which was joined by Democratic Sens. Jack Reed (R.I.), Angela Alsobrooks (Md.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.).
All four lawmakers sit on the Senate Banking Committee, which has oversight authority over the central bank.
The senators said Warsh’s failure to disclose reported calls with the president is “even more curious” given that the chair’s public calendars list meetings with other senior White House officials.
“Effective conduct of monetary policy depends on transparency, accountability, and integrity from the Chair, all of which are undermined by secret conversations with the President,” the senators wrote.
“While periodic communications with the President and Administration about the state of the economy are not objectionable in and of themselves, the repeated, free-flowing conversations described in the reporting are unprecedented in the modern era,” they continued. “If true they raise serious questions about the Fed’s relationship with the White House.”
A Fed spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that the Fed’s practice of publicly listing all scheduled meetings and events has not changed and that the chair’s schedules are released with a one-month delay.
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