Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to Testify to House on July 14

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will present the Fed’s semi-annual Monetary Policy Report and testify before the House Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m. Eastern on July 14. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to hold a session with him on July 15.

The twice-yearly appearances are required under the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act of 1978. Warsh was confirmed by the Senate in May and this will be his first testimony under oath as chair.

At the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on June 17, policymakers voted 12-0 to hold the federal funds rate at 3.5%–3.75%. At his first news conference, Warsh emphasized the Fed’s 2% inflation target and announced task forces to review Fed communications, the data used for decisions and the frameworks that judge inflation. He declared, “We’ve missed on inflation for five years and we’re going to fix that.”

After the June meeting, market odds of a September rate increase rose. Data from a market pricing tool showed the probability for a September hike near 49%, up from about 27% the day before the meeting. Internal Fed projections indicate several officials expect at least one rate increase this year.

Higher-for-longer rate expectations have affected risk assets. Bitcoin traded near $64,000 after the June meeting as expectations for rate cuts in 2026 fell. A research firm linked bitcoin’s recent weakness to rising odds of further rate increases and said the asset could rebound if those odds ease.

Warsh has resisted pressure from the White House to ease policy, saying he will not be a “sock puppet,” while the president has publicly urged lower rates. Lawmakers from both parties are expected to press him on how forcefully the Fed will act to bring inflation back to the 2% target. Investors will parse his prepared remarks and answers for any indication of policy ahead of the September meeting.