Warren lashes out after CNBC host compares Fed remarks to Trump's stance

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Elizabeth Warren reacted with visible disbelief and anger after a CNBC interview on Wednesday, April 22, turned confrontational when host Sarah Eisen suggested Warren’s own public commentary on Federal Reserve policy was not much different from President Donald Trump's stance on the central bank.

Warren laughed off the comparison before launching into a forceful rebuttal.

Warren scoffs at comparison with Trump

The clash came during an appearance when Eisen pointed to Warren’s history of openly discussing interest rates, monetary policy, and preferred economic leadership at the Fed.

“You yourself have been very outspoken on this show and otherwise on what the Fed should be doing,” Eisen said, noting Warren had previously supported figures such as Lael Brainard and Janet Yellen.

The host then pressed further, saying it was not all that different from Trump publicly stating what he wants from the central bank and from future appointments.

Warren immediately recoiled at the suggestion. “I’m sorry. Is that real?“It is not different to just say, here’s my opinion, and here’s how I read the numbers, and here is who I think has a good track record?” she said, laughing in disbelief.

Warren argued there was a major distinction between a senator expressing views and a sitting president using executive power.

“You think that’s the same as being the president of the United States and employing the Department of Justice to bring criminal charges against someone? As sending someone a notice that they have been fired?”

Warren accuses Trump of trying to intimidate the Fed

The Massachusetts Democrat then sharpened her criticism, saying Trump was doing far more than voicing an opinion on interest rates.

“Donald Trump is not expressing an opinion. Donald Trump is trying to control the Fed. You know it and I know it.”

She added that he was trying to influence policymakers through fear. “What he’s also trying to do is to control the Fed by terrifying all of them.”

When Eisen asked why Warren had not more aggressively confronted Fed nominee Kevin Warsh about a Justice Department investigation involving current Chair Jerome Powell, Warren insisted she already had.

She said Warsh declined to discuss it because it was an ongoing matter, then mocked his unwillingness to break with Trump.

“That’s what Kevin Warsh is doing, exactly what you’d expect a sock puppet to do.”

The tense interview came one day after Warren questioned Warsh during a Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing.

Trump is seeking to position Warsh as successor to Powell when the current Fed chair’s term ends in May.

Powell has long frustrated Trump by resisting repeated calls for lower interest rates. 

In recent months, Trump allies have intensified criticism of Powell, while a Justice Department investigation opened in January regarding Powell’s congressional testimony over the Federal Reserve headquarters renovation.