Warsh Hearing Will Test How Far He’ll Push Balance Sheet Reform

Kevin Warsh will get his first major public platform as Federal Reserve Chair nominee next week to address his longstanding concerns over the central bank’s outsized market footprint.

Warsh, who has urged for a sharp rollback of the Fed’s $6.6 trillion crisis-era balance sheet, arrives as policymakers are starting to pivot toward regulatory changes to curb the central bank’s market role. While his Senate confirmation hearing is more likely to focus on interest-rate policy, there are signs his balance-sheet views are gathering momentum within the central bank even as resistance to wide-ranging reforms persists.