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Fed chair candidate Warsh denies secret deal with President Trump. At a tense confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, Kevin Warsh, 56, vigorously denied any secret agreement with President Donald Trump in exchange for his nomination. On April 21, Kevin Warsh, the nominee to serve as chairman of the Federal Reserve, took part in the tense hearing before the Senate Banking Committee. The 2.5-hour hearing focused on whether the 56-year-old candidate could safeguard the Fed's traditional independence from a White House pressure campaign to lower interest rates. Before lawmakers, Warsh firmly denied any secret deal with the President for his nomination. The former senior Fed official asserted that President Trump never asked him to commit to a specific interest-rate decision, and he stressed that he would never agree to such coercive demands. Warsh pledged to play the role of an independent policy-maker if confirmed and to act only in the best interests of the U.S. economy. His remarks came just a few hours after the President publicly said he would be very disappointed if the Fed under Warsh's leadership did not cut rates immediately. Previously in an interview last year, Trump also said Warsh fully supported the view that rate cuts should be implemented promptly. Pressure from Trump to cut rates to 1% or lower is posing a tough puzzle for the Fed, especially amid a macroeconomic backdrop of volatility. Investors are closely monitoring how Warsh weighs White House demands against reality on the ground, as the Middle East conflict continues to push energy prices higher. Under conventional economic principles, rising inflation would force the Fed to raise rates or at least hold them steady rather than loosen policy. Facing this pressure, Warsh declined to give a specific assessment of whether a bold rate cut at the President's request would reignite inflation. Although he has broad Republican support for his professional qualifications, Warsh's path to the Fed chair remains contested by certain obstacles. The nomination will require at least 51 votes in the Senate to be confirmed. But President Trump's unwillingness to concede in the probe into the current Fed chair Jerome Powell, as some lawmakers request, is stalling the confirmation process.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
