Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the Banking Committee ranking member, on Tuesday pressed Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh about his commitment to the central bank's independence.
Mr. Warsh refused to say whether President Trump lost the 2020 election, saying only that Congress certified the results.
"I'm just asking a factual question," Sen. Warren followed up. "I need to know.
I need to measure your independence and your courage."
"We need to keep politics out of monetary policy and keep monetary policy out of politics," he said.
When asked to name one area of disagreement with the president, Mr. Warsh said he rejected the president's assertion that he was out of "central casting."
"I do have a disagreement," he quipped. "I think even this morning, he said that he thought I was out of central casting.
I think central casting, I'd look older, grayer, maybe show up here with a cigar of sorts."
The joke appeared to fall flat, drawing a few chuckles in the packed committee room.
"Quite adorable," Sen. Warren replied. "But you know, we need a Fed chair who is independent.
That's the only way we preserve the independence of the Federal Reserve.
If you can't answer these questions, you don't have the courage and you don't have the independence."
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