00:00You mentioned Kevin Warsh at the beginning of our conversation. Got his first Fed meeting as chair tomorrow. Senator, you,
00:06of course, put a lot of weight on financial disclosures in his confirmation hearing as he prepares to meet the
00:12press. And it looks like he is widely expected to not cut rates as the president has urged. Did you
00:19get the information that you need? Are you comfortable with Kevin Warsh as the chair of the Fed?
00:25No, I am not comfortable. And I'm not comfortable because we have never gotten enough disclosure to know for certain
00:31that there are not conflicts of interest. I am not comfortable with anyone who is not straight up and honest
00:37and transparent with the American people.
00:40Do you still think he's a sock puppet if he doesn't cut rates tomorrow?
00:43Well, we will see. Look, right now, Donald Trump has actually put Kevin Warsh in a pretty terrible box. And
00:51that is that Trump's policies on tariffs, on energy, on health care and on wars around the world mean that
01:00prices are shooting through the roof for American families.
01:04And, as you know, inflation is at its highest rate in about three and a half years. And we see
01:09that what's coming down the line looks like prices may be going up even faster.
01:15And that means that the place ordinarily the Fed would go with its tool is to raise interest rate. But
01:22that increases costs for American families.
01:25And American families don't need to pay more on their credit cards, on mortgages and on car loans. They're already
01:32slammed against the wall trying to pay for groceries and for health care and for housing.
01:38So Donald Trump's policies outside the Fed monetary policy are really creating havoc in this economy. And what the Fed
01:49can do about it is pretty limited.
01:53Well, Senator, you raise housing. And I know you're about to go to the floor yourself to advance a housing
01:58bill that now apparently has bicameral buy-in. We have seen a lot of volleying back and forth between your
02:04chamber and the House of Representatives.
02:06What is it that unlocked this deal now? And when do you expect it to be on President Trump's desk
02:11for signature?
02:12Oh, so look, as you know, we are in a housing crisis all over this country.
02:17We need more housing. And this bill has about 45 provisions in it, each one of which moves us toward
02:26an increase in total housing supply.
02:30Plus, this is the first bill ever in American history to put some constraints on private equity and say that
02:38they can't come into your neighborhood,
02:39buy up every house on the block and try to turn America into a nation of renters instead of owners.
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