Top Candidate for Fed Chair: Speak Less, Mind Your Business, Rigorously Control Monetary Expansion

During an event on Friday, Kevin Warsh, the top candidate considered by Wall Street to succeed the current Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and former Fed governor, harshly criticized some of the Fed's practices. In a side event at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, Warsh, speaking before a full house, stated that the Federal Reserve talks too much, intervenes excessively in current social issues, and has not held lawmakers accountable for their excessive spending. Warsh argued that the Fed should revert to its traditional role—maintaining a low profile as it had for most of the past hundred years, without over-explaining its monetary policy and financial stability measures to the public. Warsh's views seem to align with Trump's, who believes Powell is overly exposed in the media. On Friday, Warsh said, “The Fed leaders are better off not frequently sharing their latest thoughts.” He added that Fed officials should not publish their economic forecasts because it would “bind them to their words.” Warsh even pointed out that the Fed should not over-rely on economic data when making decisions since such "data dependency" holds little value. He emphasized that the data released by the government is often delayed and prone to subsequent revisions. In his speech, Warsh did not express specific views on inflation and interest rate prospects but rather stated that the Fed should not reveal its expectations about the future path of interest rates to the markets. He said, “Central banks should readjust to operating in an environment without applause and no audience on the edge of their seats.”