The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs published Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren’s opening statement and questioning from a nomination hearing on President Donald Trump’s picks for chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, chair of the National Credit Union Administration and inspector general at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In those remarks, Warren argued that Council of Economic Advisers nominee Christopher Phelan was unwilling to provide objective economic advice and said he had “disqualified himself in five minutes” after repeatedly failing to give direct answers to basic questions on inflation and wage growth. During the exchange, Warren cited headline inflation at 4.2% versus 2.8% in February 2025 and annual wage growth at 3.4%, pressing Phelan to acknowledge that prices were rising faster than wages. She also used the hearing to criticize NCUA chair nominee John Crews, arguing that credit unions need an independent and stable regulator and saying he had been unwilling to acknowledge the law or the value of a full bipartisan NCUA board. For HUD inspector general nominee Jeffrey Ledbetter, Warren said formal commitments to independence would need to hold under political pressure from the administration.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs2026-06-25
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs publishes Warren remarks saying CEA nominee Phelan disqualified himself at nomination hearing
The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs released Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren’s remarks and questioning from a hearing on Trump’s nominees for the Council of Economic Advisers, the National Credit Union Administration and HUD inspector general. Warren said CEA nominee Christopher Phelan failed basic factual questions on inflation and wages and argued he had “disqualified himself in five minutes.” She also raised concerns about NCUA board independence and political pressure on HUD oversight.