President Donald Trump's nominee for Federal Reserve Chairman was grilled during his Senate confirmation process about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, asked Warsh if he would divest from over $100 million in undisclosed funds he holds, in different vehicles, one called the 'Juggernaut Fund'.

'Are you refusing to tell us if you have investments, for example, in vehicles set up to advance Jeffrey Epstein? Is that what you're telling us, you just won't tell us?' Warren asked.

Warsh danced around the question in his answer.

'Senator, what I'm telling you is that those assets ... will be sold if I'm confirmed before I take office and sign the oath of office,' Warsh said.

Warsh’s name came up in January as tied to Epstein when the Justice Department released files related to Epstein. 

Emails connected to Epstein’s accounts suggest that Warsh and his wife, Jane Lauder, were invited to events that Epstein helped organize. It’s still unclear who ultimately attended those gatherings and Warsh hasn't been accused of any crime.

Warren had also previously urged Warsh to disclose more information about his assets than was included in financial disclosure forms released earlier this week.

Warsh, a former senior Fed official and wealthy investor, disclosed financial assets worth well over $100 million, though precise figures were unavailable as holdings are reported in ranges.

Despite the back and forth, the hearing did little to advance his nomination, which has stalled amid a Justice Department investigation into Powell over brief testimony he gave last June before the same panel about a building renovation.

Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican on the committee, repeated Tuesday that he would not back Warsh until the investigation is dropped. With the committee closely divided and every Democrat opposed, Tillis's resistance alone is enough to kill the nomination in committee.

'We have got to get rid of this investigation,' he said, 'so I can support your nomination.'

Tillis has said all seven Republicans on the committee signed a letter affirming Powell committed no crime in his June testimony. Federal prosecutors, led by Assistant US Attorney Jeannine Pirro, are nonetheless probing it for potential perjury, though a judge last month threw out Pirro's subpoenas, ruling prosecutors had offered no evidence to support the charge.

As recently as last week, prosecutors sought access to the Fed's building project records but were turned away, a sign the Trump administration has not backed down despite opposition from the very Republican senators needed to confirm Warsh.

In his opening remarks, Warsh told the Senate Banking Committee that fighting inflation would be among his top priorities. It currently stands at 3.3 percent annually.

'Congress tasked the Fed with the mission to ensure price stability, without excuse or equivocation, argument or anguish,' he said. 'Inflation is a choice, and the Fed must take responsibility for it.'

Should he be confirmed, Warsh would face a fiendishly difficult hand. Inflation is worsening, making interest rate cuts, which Trump is loudly demanding, far harder to deliver. 

The standoff risks dragging on both economic growth and hiring. And in a twist without precedent since the late 1940s, Warsh may find his predecessor Powell still sitting on the Fed's governing board.

Warsh insisted the Fed's political independence is 'essential,' and that the central bank was not threatened when 'elected officials, presidents, senators, or members of the House, state their views on interest rates.' Trump has repeatedly pressed Powell to slash the Fed's benchmark rate from around 3.6 percent to as low as 1 percent, a position almost no economist endorses.