Democratic Senator Warren criticizes Trump’s Fed picks as lacking independence

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WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren labeled President Donald Trump’s top contenders to lead the Federal Reserve “sock puppets” on Thursday, singling out Kevin Hassett as someone who would not be able to maintain the U.S. central bank’s independence.

“The president is looking for someone who will do his bidding,” Warren said in an interview with CNBC.  Warren is the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee,  which is responsible for vetting nominees to the Fed’s board.

Hassett, the front-runner to be the Federal Reserve’s next chair, works directly for Trump as director of the White House National Economic Council. Other top candidates include former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and Fed Governor Christopher Waller.

“Look, I am most worried about Kevin Hassett,” Warren said. “Kevin Hassett is the biggest concern on that list because he has made clear that he will do whatever the president wants done. He will say whatever the president wants said, and that is the very definition of a sock puppet.

“Remind me when he last disagreed with Donald Trump publicly – in any way whatsoever.” 

Trump continues to search for a successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in mid-May and whom Trump has repeatedly called incompetent or worse for not cutting interest rates sharply.  

Hassett told the Wall Street Journal in an interview this week he would not bow to political pressure from Trump to lower interest rates and rely on his own judgment, “which I think the president trusts.” 

“You just do the right thing,” Hassett said during a Wall Street Journal CEO Council.

Warren, a proponent of stricter banking regulations, also has been a fierce critic of Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, who the Republican president has said refused to take on the top Fed job.    

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Andrea Ricci )