Rounds Backs Warsh's Rate Hold After 2 Days of Fed Independence Testimony
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jul 16
Rounds Backs Warsh's Rate Hold After 2 Days of Fed Independence Testimony
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jul 16
Summary
Mike Rounds said Kevin Warsh delivered the right message to Congress this week, praising the Fed chair's emphasis on taming inflation and preserving central-bank independence.
Two days of testimony in the House and Senate put Warsh under scrutiny over inflation and White House influence after he took over in May and kept rates unchanged at the Fed's June meeting.
Rounds said holding rates steady was the correct first move, arguing lower 30-year mortgage costs will require a longer-term drop in inflation rather than immediate easing.
Trump installed Warsh after pressing Jerome Powell to cut rates and threatening to fire him, making Warsh's insistence on Fed independence a central issue in his first months as chair.