Scott Bessent Said It’s ‘Up to the President’ on Whether to Sue Fed Chair Pick Over Interest Rates

Sen. Elizabeth Warren pressed Bessent on a comment Trump made last weekend about suing Kevin Warsh if he doesn’t lower rates.

Scott Bessent

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Ben Curtis/AP

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refused to pledge Thursday that President Donald Trump’s Federal Reserve chair pick, Kevin Warsh, would not face a federal criminal investigation if he does not comply with the president’s demands to cut interest rates.

“This should be an easy one, Mr. Secretary. Can you commit here and now that Trump’s Fed nominee Kevin Warsh will not be sued, will not be investigated by the Department of Justice if he doesn’t cut interest rates exactly the way that Donald Trump wants?” Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

“I– I– that is up to the president,” Bessent said.