Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, announced Tuesday that the committee will hold a hearing next week on the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair.
Scott joined Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the path forward for confirming Warsh to replace current Chair Jerome Powell when he leaves that post in May. Scott expressed confidence that the nomination process will move forward.
“Next week, we’ll have a hearing with Kevin Warsh being present. We’ll talk through the economy, we’ll talk through price stability and inflation, and we’ll talk about the independence of the Fed. And then the second step, later on we’ll have a vote on Kevin Warsh,” said in the Fox interview.
“The American people deserve a Fed focused on them, not on politics, as it has been under Jay Powell,” Scott said.
Access to Credit
On expanding access to credit and supporting economic growth, Scott credit will be an important issue to address.
“Small business owners and first-time homebuyers need access to credit. The only way to have that is not to have it on the sidelines, but to put it to work for the American people, and that’s one of the focuses I am looking forward to being restored,” Scott said.
Scott also talked about stablecoins and protecting the broader financial system in the Fox interview.
“We have not seen any savings accounts leak into stablecoins. We actually saw an increase in the number of dollars put into savings accounts since the third quarter of last year,” he said. “We have not seen the leakage that people talked about, but what we will see is America remaining the dominant economy on the planet.”
A Senate hearing had been scheduled for April 16, but it was delayed. The committee hadn’t received the paperwork that it needs with enough time to schedule the hearing, according to reports.
Warsh’s Finances
The committee’s rules require that it give a week’s notice before the hearing is held, CNBC reported, and the panel first needs to collect paperwork from the nominee, including financial disclosures. CNBC said that the banking committee has yet to receive Warsh’s paperwork, according to three people familiar with the Senate process.
Last week, observers said the believe that Warsh’s finances could be an issue in the hearing, and on Tuesday, Politico reported that Warsh is worth at least $131 million, according to newly released financial disclosures that were unveiled ahead of the nomination hearing next week.
According to Politico, Warsh reported holding two separate investments in the Juggernaut Fund LP worth at least $50 million each, making up the bulk of his holdings. He also reported earning millions in income from consulting jobs and speaking fees, the report said.
Also, Warsh has brought in more than $10 million in consulting fees from the Duquesne Family Office, an investment firm run by the Wall Street investor Stanley Druckenmiller. Warsh also earned more than $1.5 million in consulting fees from GoldenTree Asset Management, $750,000 from Cerberus Capital Management and $650,000 from the real estate investment firm Heitman, Politico reported.
Warsh’s wife, Jane Lauder, who serves on the board of the Estee Lauder cosmetics company and owns equity in the firm her family started, reported millions of dollars in assets, too.
