Fed Chair Waller: Even if Trump condemns it, I will still take action based on data

U.S. Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh testified before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, marking his first appearance in Congress’ semiannual monetary policy hearing in his capacity as chair of the Federal Reserve. Warsh said that even if he faces criticism from President Trump, he would take action based on data, hinting that he would uphold the Federal Reserve’s policy independence.

Maxine Waters, the Democratic leader of the Financial Services Committee, said Trump is both “seizing huge profits” using the presidential office and weakening the independence of federal regulatory bodies. In response, Warsh said the Federal Reserve will adhere to its duties, stay out of politics, and will not comment on reports related to the disclosure of Trump’s personal financial information.

Waters asked whether Trump and other executive-branch officials should be allowed to hold companies within their regulatory scope, including companies involved in crypto-asset holdings. Warsh declined to comment on the matter, saying only that the Federal Reserve would focus on its own responsibilities and would not make comments about officials outside the Federal Reserve.

Waters then turned to prediction markets, with remarks that appeared to involve insider trading related to government decisions. Warsh, meanwhile, said that in his first week on the job, he had already written to Federal Reserve staff to emphasize the importance of maintaining the Federal Reserve’s integrity.

Documents released earlier by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics disclosed that Trump’s personal income in the crypto-asset space last year was at least $1.2 billion.