Word of the Week: Sock Puppet — the allegation levelled against Trump’s Fed nominee, Kevin Warsh

Quite often, Donald Trump’s leaders, be it Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, or others, have been referred to as ‘yes men’.

In fact, on April 21, The Telegraph, citing White House officials, reported, “An army of yes men, in thrall to Donald Trump’s shifts of temper and short attention span, is hampering any prospect of peace with Iran,” and that worries are growing inside the White House.

But if all goes as planned, the US president may also have a ‘sock puppet’ of his own in the Federal Reserve, courtesy of Kevin Warsh. At least, that’s the allegation that was levelled against Warsh during his confirmation hearing this week.

As you sit back and enjoy the weekend, here’s more on the term sock puppet, its link with Donald Trump, and why it’s our choice of ‘Word of the Week’.

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What’s a sock puppet?

Before we deep dive into why the term has been trending this week, let’s take a closer look at its meaning.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a sock puppet as a toy person or animal made from a decorated sock that you can put your hand inside and move with your fingers. Another definition for the term is someone who is controlled by another person and made to say or do things that person wants said or done.

A participant play-acts with a sock puppet. Representational image/AFP

In internet parlance, a sock puppet is a false name or identity assumed by an internet user, often to deceive or to preserve the user’s anonymity.

Why has sock puppet as gone viral this week?

Earlier this week, on Tuesday (April 21), US President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the US Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, appeared before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, during which he was grilled about his stance on several issues, including maintaining the independence of the financial institution.

The term ‘sock puppet’ propped up time and again during Warsh’s hearing, with many of the lawmakers seeking assurance that he would not make future policy decisions based on the president’s desires.

“Are you going to be the president’s human sock puppet?” asked Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, during the two-and-a-half-hour contentious hearing.

Warsh replied: “Absolutely not.”

But it wasn’t the only time that the term sock puppet was invoked. US Senator Elizabeth Warren also labelled Trump’s choice as a “sock puppet”, suggesting his installation would facilitate an “illegal takeover” of the institution.

“Having a sock puppet in charge of the Fed would give the president access to the Fed’s powerful authorities to enrich himself, his family, and his Wall Street buddies,” claimed Warren.

Warsh rejected these claims that he would do Trump’s bidding, especially when it came to interest rates, if he were confirmed to replace Jerome Powell as chair.

He also denied that Trump had made him promise anything regarding the Fed’s future decisions on borrowing costs. He pledged to defend the central bank’s autonomy to set policy based strictly on “analytic rigour, meaningful deliberation and unclouded decision-making.”

“The president never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, period,” Warsh said. “And nor would I ever agree to do so if he had.”

Another indicator that Warsh could be Trump’s sock puppet was when asked about the 2020 election. Senator Warren asked Warsh: “Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?”

After stumbling a bit, Warsh responded, “We try to take politics out of the Federal Reserve.”

Kevin Warsh, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be next chair of the Federal Reserve, shakes hands with US Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), after Warsh testified at a Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill. Reuters

However, his remarks did little to shake off the perception that he would, in fact, be Trump’s sock puppet. In fact, the US president made it harder by stating hours before the hearing started that Warsh might need to have an office next to him in the White House if the Fed’s renovations of its headquarters in Washington are not soon completed.

The US president also made clear that he would be disappointed if his pick for chair did not cut rates right away.

Only time will tell if Warsh does get the required votes to become the next Fed chief. The question, however, remains: Will Warsh abide by Trump or will he maintain independence?