Business meeting to consider the nominations of Andrew Hughes, of Texas, to be Deputy Secretary and David Woll, of Virginia, to be General Counsel, both of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Michelle Bowman, of Kansas, to be Vice Chairman for Supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a term of four years, John Hurley, of California, to be Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, Department of the Treasury, and David Fogel, of Connecticut, to be Assistant Secretary and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service, and Landon Heid, of Missouri, to be an Assistant Secretary, both of the Department of Commerce.

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

2025-05-06

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This meeting focused on the consideration and voting for several nominations for key positions across various government departments. The initial discussion highlighted significant concerns regarding the qualifications of the nominees and the broader economic policies of the current administration, followed by a series of roll call votes for each candidate.

Themes

Concerns Regarding Nominees and Administration Policies

Elizabeth Warren, as Ranking Member, expressed strong apprehension about the President's economic policies, including rising grocery prices, predicted recession, and tariffs, which she claims are "breaking our economy." She criticized President Trump for alleged self-enrichment through a stablecoin deal involving a crypto exchange that faced criminal charges related to funding terrorists and child abusers. Warren specifically raised concerns about Ms. Bowman's views on tariffs and deregulation, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Wall's stance on housing cuts and loyalty pledges, Mr. Hurley's reluctance to acknowledge Russia's role in the Ukraine war or commit to the Corporate Transparency Act, Mr. Hyde's refusal to rule out lifting export controls on Russia, and Mr. Fogel's failure to recognize the negative impact of trade policies. She indicated her refusal to vote for these nominees while accusing the President of harming the economy for personal gain.

Nomination Votes

The committee proceeded to vote on six nominees. Andrew Hughes, David Wall, and Michelle Bowman each received 13 votes in favor and 11 opposed.[ 00:25:20-00:25:20 ]

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 John Hurley received 14 votes in favor and 10 opposed.[ 00:29:21 ]

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 David Fogel and Landon Hyde each received 13 votes in favor and 11 opposed.[ 00:30:25 ]

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 All nominations were ordered reported favorably to the full Senate.

Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting began with a highly critical and confrontational stance from the Ranking Member, Elizabeth Warren, who used her opening statement to broadly condemn the President's economic policies and the perceived deficiencies of his nominees. Following this strong opening, the remainder of the meeting adopted a formal and procedural tone, consisting primarily of roll call votes for each nomination. The meeting concluded with brief, formal remarks from the chair, who submitted her full statement for the record.

Participants

Transcript

We'll call this to order.  Thank you all for being here.  Ranking Member Warren for her opening statement.   President Trump is pushing our economy off a cliff.  Over the past week, the President has told families to brace for more expensive toys for Christmas, and he continues to lie about the fact that grocery prices are going up.  He's managed to shrink the economy in the first 100 days, and experts across the board are predicting a recession.   Meanwhile, President Trump is getting rich off a $2 billion stablecoin deal with the United Arab Emirates involving a crypto exchange that pleaded guilty to criminal charges after allowing money to flow to terrorists   and child abusers.  The Trump administration is in desperate need of serious officials who will serve the American people and not serve the president's worst impulses.  That is why I am so concerned about the nominees we're voting on today.  Ms.  Bowman wants to lead a key part of the Federal Reserve, but refused to acknowledge what families and economists know to be true.  Trump's tariffs are breaking our economy.   She also signaled that more Wall Street deregulation is on the way, putting small businesses and households at even greater risk.  Mr. Hughes and Mr. Wall want to be confirmed to positions at HUD, but they seem unwilling to stand up against cuts that will undermine fair housing and make it harder to tackle skyrocketing housing costs.  They both refused to answer whether they had signed a loyalty pledge to the president.   Mr. Hurley would be responsible for implementing our economic sanctions, but he could not even bring himself to say that Russia started the war against Ukraine, and he would not commit to fully implementing the Corporate Transparency Act   to prevent cartels, Iran, and China from laundering funds through shell companies in the United States.
The nominees for key positions at the Commerce Department raised similar concerns.  Mr. Hyde would help oversee export controls, but he refused to rule out lifting them on Russia's war machine.   Mr. Fogel would be tasked with promoting US business around the world, but refused to acknowledge the tremendous damage President Trump's chaotic trade policies are already causing to American families and businesses.  I won't vote to confirm these administration officials when President Trump is strangling our economy to raise prices for families while he lines his own pockets.  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.   Thank you, Ranking Member.  I will reserve the right to offer an opening statement at the end so that we can all get done hopefully by 10 o'clock.  Our first vote is on the nomination of Andrew Hughes to be the Deputy Secretary of the Department of HUD.  The Clerk will call the roll.
Mr. Chairman?  Aye.  Mr. Crapo?
Aye.
Mr. Rounds?
Aye.
Mr. Tillis?
Aye.
Mr. Kennedy?
Aye.
Mr. Haggerty?
Aye.
Ms.  Lummis?
Aye.
Mrs. Britt?
Aye.
Mr. Ricketts?  Aye.  Mr. Banks?
Aye.
Mr. Kramer?
Aye.

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