'We are committed to the 2% inflation goal,' Warsh tells House lawmakers

"If we get policy right — and I can assure you we will — the inflation surge of the last five years will be a thing of the past," Warsh said in his opening statement, adding that he and his central bank colleagues "have no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation."

"We are committed to the 2% inflation goal," he said as questioning from House lawmakers began. Warsh added later that his goal is for price changes so undramatic that Americans "don't have to think about it, they don't have to talk about it."

The strong words on inflation could be a further signal to markets that interest rates are likely to remain elevated for the time being. However, his remarks came after new inflation data showed prices cooled in June, which should ease some pressure on the Fed. The Consumer Price Index for June registered at 3.5% — down 0.4% from a month earlier — as consumer prices grew more slowly than expected, driven by lower gas prices.

The evolving inflation and interest rate picture, however, could still put Warsh at odds with President Trump, who has repeatedly called for interest rates to be lower, though in recent comments, he has seemed resigned to higher rates for now.

Warsh told the lawmakers Tuesday that even if Trump's tone changes and the president publicly pressures him to lower rates, "My commitment to you is to follow the law and follow the data."

Warsh didn't discuss adjusting interest rates in his opening comments, but said the June decision to keep them steady was part of the inflation focus. Some of his colleagues, however, have addressed the possibility of rate hikes. Fed governor Christopher Waller said on Monday that policymakers may need to raise rates if underlying inflation continues to pressure the economy.

Warsh delivered his remarks Tuesday morning during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee following the Federal Reserve's semiannual Monetary Policy Report , released last Friday.

Lawmakers' questions covered a variety of topics, including Warsh's views on inflation, his projections for the labor market, and his plans for five new task forces looking into how the Fed can improve functions such as communication and data collection.

Warsh outlined plans for the task forces in his opening comments, calling the appointees some of "the very best minds" and adding that the inflation task force will consider "a range of ideas for delivering price stability."

Energy prices also came up after President Trump announced plans on Monday to reimpose a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and charge a 20% fee on cargo. That led futures of Brent crude ( BZ=F ), the international benchmark, to jump nearly 10% on Monday and could reignite overall inflation for July.

On the economy, Warsh said the labor market is largely stable but that the housing market "continues to lag."

He called AI investment "the most striking feature of the economy right now" but added that "we don't yet know fully the extent to which the economy will benefit."

The report and testimony are a twice-yearly Washington tradition often referred to as the Humphrey-Hawkins testimony, after the 1978 law that requires the Fed to report to Congress each February and July.

Warsh offered little during the back-and-forth on his outlook for interest rates.

Warsh has made circumspection on "forward guidance" a hallmark of his early tenure atop the central bank, declining to participate in the Fed's "dot plot" of economic projections and often avoiding questions that he said "sounded like an encouragement for me to give forward guidance."

Warsh again said Tuesday that he takes a critical view of excessive commentary from central bankers, saying at one point Tuesday that being overly tied to forward guidance when the situation changes is "not the way we want to do things."

After Tuesday's hearing in the House, Warsh is set to answer more questions on Wednesday in an appearance at the Senate Banking Committee .