Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren announced Tuesday that she will oppose Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s renomination, making her the highest-profile lawmaker to do so.
“Your record gives me grave concern. Over and over you have acted to make our banking system less safe. And that makes you a dangerous man to head up the Fed,” Warren told Powell during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. Warren argued the Powell-led Fed took “plenty of actions to weaken” oversight of banks, including by adjusting bank stress tests, the Volcker Rule and liquidity requirements. Powell — a Republican appointed by former President Donald Trump — disagreed that those moves were deregulatory, though he conceded it’s “fair game” to examine the Fed’s actions.
