Warren: Trump wants to install 'another sock puppet' on Federal Reserve board

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said the Senate should halt all of President Trump’s nominees to the Federal Reserve because of the Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, arguing it threatened the independence of the central bank.

She also argued Trump is seeking to put a “sock puppet” in place of Powell who would bend to all of the president’s demands at the bank.

“As Donald Trump prepares to nominate a new Fed Chair, he wants to push Jerome Powell off the Fed Board for good and install another sock puppet to complete his corrupt takeover of America’s central bank,” Warren wrote in a statement. 

“Trump is abusing the authorities of the Department of Justice like a wannabe dictator so the Fed serves his interests, along with his billionaire friends,” she added. “This Committee and the Senate should not move forward with any Trump nominee for the Fed, including Fed Chair.”

Powell confirmed the investigation late Sunday evening, saying the DOJ served the central bank with grand jury subpoenas on Friday and threatened a criminal indictment related to his testimony before the Banking Committee last June, during which he touched on the estimated $2.5 billion renovation to the bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Fed chair, though, claimed the probe is not about the renovation, but an attempt by Trump to interfere in the central bank’s affairs. The president repeatedly criticized Powell, who he appointed in his first months back in office, as the Federal Open Market Committee held interest rates steady before cutting them by 0.25 percent at its final three meetings of the year.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said Sunday.

Warren is the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, which must approve the president’s nominations for the Fed before they can be voted on by the full Senate. Warren has criticized Powell in the past for holding interest rates steady and was the lone member of the committee to vote against his nomination in 2017. 

The inquiry comes months before the Fed chair’s term expires in May, with the president yet to announce his replacement. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, former Fed board of governors member Kevin Warsh and sitting board member Christopher Waller are among the candidates to succeed Powell. 

Last month, Warren told CNBC that Hassett is the “very definition of a sock puppet.” 

Some of Warren’s Republican colleagues, including Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), have also pushed back on the probe of Powell. 

Tillis, also a member of the Banking Committee, said Sunday he will oppose any of the president’s nominations for the Fed, including chair, until “this legal matter is fully resolved.”