Sen. Warren demands fuller Warsh disclosure ahead of Fed chair hearing

WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said Thursday she met with Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, and urged him to release more detailed financial information than was included in disclosure forms released earlier this week. Warsh declined, Warren said, adding that the refusal “frankly, raises more concerns.” The Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on Warsh’s nomination next week.

Warsh’s path to confirmation faces compounding obstacles: a Republican senator is withholding support pending resolution of a Justice Department investigation into current Fed chair Jerome Powell, all 11 Senate Banking Committee Democrats are seeking to postpone the hearing, and Trump has made clear he expects lower interest rates from whoever leads the central bank despite inflation pressures from the ongoing Iran war.

“This is a real problem,” Warren told reporters after the meeting. “No one has gone forward in the Trump administration without disclosing fully their financial holdings.” She called Warsh’s extensive investments “a red flag surrounded by fireworks and sparklers.”

Disclosure gaps at issue

Warsh, 56, listed financial assets worth well more than $100 million in his disclosure filing, with figures given in ranges that leave precise values undisclosed. He owns a solo financial advisory firm, Vicarage LLC, and earned roughly $10 million as an adviser to billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller’s family office, according to the disclosure form. He has pledged in ethics filings to sell those holdings and stop working as an adviser if confirmed as Fed chair.

Warsh cited “pre-existing confidentiality” agreements as the reason he cannot specify the size of some individual holdings or, in some cases, identify what they are. Among the undisclosed specifics: the size of his stake in Polymarket, the prediction-market platform. He said he would comply with all ethics requirements by selling his investments if confirmed.

Warren said she urged Warsh in their meeting to go beyond those disclosures voluntarily. He declined.

Confirmation path blocked on multiple fronts

The confirmation hearing faces resistance from both sides of the aisle. All 11 Democrats on the Banking Committee sent a letter Thursday calling for the hearing to be postponed. They cited a DOJ investigation into Powell — centering on cost overruns in a $2.5 billion Federal Reserve building renovation project — and a separate effort by the Trump administration to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook, describing both as apparent attempts by the administration to gain control of the central bank.

Within the Republican caucus, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the Banking panel, said this week he will not vote for Warsh until the DOJ investigation into Powell is resolved. That stand-off threatens to push Warsh’s confirmation past Powell’s term as chair, which ends May 15.

Marco Casiraghi, an analyst at Evercore ISI, wrote earlier this week that “the ground has shifted materially beneath Warsh’s feet since he was nominated,” citing the oil-price shock from the ongoing Iran war and the failure to resolve the DOJ investigation quickly.

Powell’s planned post-chair role complicates the picture

Powell said last month he would continue to serve as Fed chair if no replacement is confirmed by the end of his term. Trump threatened Wednesday to try to fire Powell if he did so.

Powell has also said he intends to remain on the Fed’s governing board as a governor even after his chair term ends, if the DOJ investigation is not dropped. His governor term runs until January 2028. By remaining on the board, he could prevent the administration from filling an additional seat — a step the Fed chair has said he might take to preserve the central bank’s political independence.

A Fed chair has not remained on the board as a governor after a new chair was appointed since 1948.

Rate pressure expected regardless of outcome

Trump has signaled he expects Warsh to deliver lower interest rates. Asked Wednesday on Fox Business whether he still expects rates to decline, Trump said: “when Kevin gets in, I do. … interest rates should be much lower.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered a softer note Tuesday, telling reporters that rates should be cut, “but if they want to wait for some clarity, I understand that.” Fed officials have said they want to determine whether the energy-price jump stemming from the Iran war begins to push inflation higher before considering rate reductions.

The Fed’s short-term rate influences borrowing costs across the economy, including mortgages, auto loans, and business credit.

Warsh has sought the Fed chair position for at least a decade, according to the Associated Press. He served on the Fed’s governing board from 2006 to 2011 and is married to Jane Lauder, the daughter of Ronald Lauder, a billionaire cosmetics heir and major Republican donor.