US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh testifies during a House Financial Services Committee hearing titled "The Federal Reserve's Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 14, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on Tuesday pledged to make high inflation "a thing of the past" in his first monetary policy testimony to Congress.

"The Fed's number one objective is to get monetary policy right -- or as near to it as we possibly can. That is our clear and constant aim, the star we steer by," Warsh said. "And if we get policy right ... the inflation surge of the last five years will be a thing of the past."

"High inflation has been an undue burden on American households and businesses," he noted. "It has been a tax on the American people and businesses. We plan on getting rid of that tax."

The Fed has "no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation. And we share a resolute commitment to restoring price stability," Warsh said. "That means we need a regime change in policy, and we need new consideration of practices."

Warsh criticized the Fed's practices in the past, specifically a policy adopted in 2020 that allowed for above-target inflation after periods of lower prices.

Since taking office as the Fed chair, Warsh has launched five task forces to examine areas central to conducting monetary policy: Fed communications; the Fed's balance sheet; the Fed's use and reliance on existing data sources; productivity and jobs; and the Fed's inflation frameworks.

"We made a lot of progress in six weeks," he said, referring to the task forces.

Responding to questions, Warsh said he is "absolutely" committed to conducting monetary policy independently. "Outside the four walls of the Federal Reserve, there is no doubt a lot of politics," he said. "My goal inside the central bank is for there to be no politics."

In keeping with his policy of providing less guidance about the Fed's next steps, Warsh did not signal in his testimony whether rate increases would be necessary to combat inflation.

Warsh faces a stiff challenge in reconciling the divided Fed's interest rate setting committee while navigating a rapidly changing economic outlook, local media reported Tuesday. At June's meeting, about half of the 19 members of the Fed's committee expected they would have to raise the central bank's key rate by the end of the year to fight inflation, while nearly half expected no change or even a rate cut.