Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement during a full Committee hearing entitled, “The Federal Reserve’s Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report.” 

Chairman Warsh, you are taking the helm of the Federal Reserve at an important moment. Congress designed the Fed to stand apart from politics so that it can support stable prices, maximum employment, financial stability, and the long-term interests of the American people—not the personal interests of a President.  

Today, working families are being crushed by the rising cost of living. They pay more at the grocery store, more at the gas pump, and more for housing than they did a year ago. Just today, the bipartisan Joint Economic Committee reported that Americans have paid a total of $56.4 billion more in gas since Trump began his endless war with Iran. That’s $477 for each household in America. In fact, the Federal Reserve's own research shows that one in ten Americans skips meals because they simply cannot afford it. Workers are also worried about what artificial intelligence means for their jobs and their financial security.    

The one common thread of all of this is Trump, whose policies and actions have made the economy and the concerns of American people so much worse. His tariffs have driven up costs for consumers and businesses. His attacks on independent financial regulators have undermined confidence in the mission of institutions that had protected the public. His war in the Middle East, which has no end, continues to hurt gas and grocery prices.   

Despite this pain being felt by American families, there is one family making fistfuls of money—the first family. The Trump family has earned more than $2 billion since Trump returned to office, primarily from new crypto ventures that Trump’s Administration is supposed to oversee. Yet, instead of addressing these growing conflicts of interest, Republicans are legitimizing all of them. They blocked all efforts to stop this profiteering when they passed the stablecoin and crypto legislation.   

Chair Warsh, I understand you have committed to divesting all of your financial assets to avoid conflicts of interest—that should also be the case for the President of the United States of America.   

Turning to the Federal Reserve, Trump has repeatedly attacked your predecessor, Chair Jerome Powell because he refused to kiss the ring and bend monetary policy to the President's demands. His Administration continues to try to remove your colleague, Governor Lisa Cook. I hope we hear from you today how exactly you will defend your colleagues and the Federal Reserve.   

You should also take no comfort in the Supreme Court shielding the Fed when it overturned Humphrey's Executor.  The Court vastly expanded presidential authority over independent agencies, and it is likely to still come for other functions of the Fed, like bank supervision, next.   

Committee Democrats will continue fighting to protect the independence of the Fed and other agencies, strengthen consumer protections, and build an economy that prioritizes working families—not the President, the wealthy or well-connected.  

I look forward to your testimony today.