Senator Reverend Warnock secured a commitment from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, to report to Congress if the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) attempts to undermine the agency’s independence

The commitment came during the Federal Reserve’s semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress during a Wednesday’s Senate Banking committee hearing

Senator Reverend Warnock’s questioning underscored concern around the recent reports of DOGE accessing several federal agencies’ privileged information

During the hearing, Senator Reverend Warnock also highlighted the recent news of the dissolution of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Senator Reverend Warnock on DOGE: “Thousands of Georgians, of all political stripes, have written into my office, and they are alarmed by an unelected billionaire and his hackster’s dangerous and illegal attempts to access American private data”

Senator Reverend Warnock on CFPB: “Certainly the bureau (CFPB) was not created to be dismantled. Since its inception, the CFPB has been the only federal agency solely dedicated to protecting Americans’ wallets and pocketbooks from scammers, predatory companies, and financial services”

Watch Senator Reverend Warnock at Thursday’s hearing HERE

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a member of the Banking Committee, secured a commitment from Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, promising to report back to the Senate Banking committee if he learned of any attempt by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to access the Federal Reserve’s protected systems or any attempt to undermine the agency’s independence. 

“Will you commit to report to this committee, majority and minority, immediately, should you become aware of any such attempt by Elon Musk or DOGE to pierce the Fed’s (Federal Reserve) independence or access protected systems?” asked Senator Reverend Warnock.

“Yes,” said Chair Jerome Powell.

There have been reports that several agencies have been accessed by DOGE, namely the Department of Treasury. Additionally, Senator Warnock addressed the shuttering of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Last Congress, Senator Warnock chaired the Banking subcommittee with jurisdiction over CFPB.

“Since its inception, the CFPB has been the only federal agency solely dedicated to protecting Americans’ wallets and pocketbooks from scammers, predatory companies, and financial services. The CFPB reduced costs for Americans, returning more than $21 billion to Americans who had been cheated, since its inception. I want to focus on that as folks are talking about chasing after waste and fraud and abuse,” said Senator Reverend Warnock.

The hearing marked the first of the Semiannual Monetary Policy Reports to Congress from the Federal Reserve this Congress, which are written reports to Congress containing discussions of “the conduct of monetary policy and economic developments and prospects for the future.”

Watch the Senator’s full remarks and line of questioning HERE. 

See below transcript of the key exchange between Senator Warnock and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell:

Senator Reverend Warnock (SRW): “I want to echo the words of ranking member Warren and so many of my colleagues today on DOGE and project 2025’s illegal attack on the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, certainly the bureau was not created to be dismantled.”

“Since its inception, the CFPB has been the only federal agency solely dedicated to protecting Americans’ wallets and pocketbooks from scammers, predatory companies, and financial services. The CFPB reduced costs for Americans, returning more than $21 billion to Americans who had been cheated, since its inception. I want to focus on that as folks are talking about chasing after waste and fraud and abuse.”

“The CFPB has returned more than $21 billion to Americans.” 

“Make no mistake, this attack on the CFPB will increase costs for Americans and give the green light to fraudsters and predatory actors seeking to cheat hard-working Americans.”

“Chairman Powell, thousands of Georgians of all political stripes have written into my office, and they are alarmed by an unelected billionaire and his hackster’s dangerous and illegal attempts to access American private data, and the Treasury Department systems that control six trillion dollars in annual payments to millions of American citizens, including social security, Medicare, and tax refunds. 

“Has Elon Musk or members of his team, to your knowledge, attempted to access the Fed’s protected data and systems?”

Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powel (JP): “I don’t believe.”

SRW: “Will you commit to report to this committee, majority and minority, immediately should you become aware of any such attempt by Elon Musk or DOGE to pierce the Fed’s independence or access protected systems?

JP: “Yes.”

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