Kevin Warsh, tapped by President Donald Trump to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, was hammered Wednesday by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough for his “pathetic” Senate hearing performance Tuesday in which he frequently dodged questions on his ability to act independently of the president.
Warsh was vetted by members of the Senate Banking Committee, led in part by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the top Democrat on the committee, who frequently grilled Warsh for lacking the “courage” and "independence" required for the job. One exchange in particular between the two caught Scarborough’s attention.
“Name one aspect of President Trump's economic agenda with which you disagree,” Warren asked Warsh, who proceeded to dodge the question.
After continued pressing, Warsh finally provided an answer, albeit one that didn’t correspond to Warren’s question.
Trump had called Warsh a “central casting” choice for Federal Reserve chair, a comment that Warsh said he disagreed with, saying that if he actually was a “central casting” choice, he would “look older, greyer, and maybe show up here with a cigar of sorts."
“Quite adorable,” Warren fired back. “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.”
Warsh also refused to acknowledge Trump’s election loss in 2020, leading Scarborough to blast the nominee for his “sad” performance, as well as his “cutesy little answer on the one thing he disagreed with Trump on.”