Warren seeks probe of Fed's Bowman over Bank of America dinner

Senate Democrats asked the Federal Reserve’s inspector general to examine whether Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman violated central bank rules by speaking at an invitation-only Bank of America dinner for clients while the Fed’s blackout period was still in effect. The July 1 letter was signed by Elizabeth Warren, Jack Reed and Chris Van Hollen and sent to Michael Horowitz, who leads the Fed’s Office of Inspector General.

The senators want Horowitz to determine whether Bowman’s attendance, or any remarks she made, breached Fed policy and whether the central bank should tighten its rules for future outside events. The dinner was reported to have taken place on June 17, 2026, immediately after the Fed’s June 16-17 policy meeting, when the blackout period for FOMC participants had not yet ended. Fed guidance says those blackout periods begin the second Saturday before a regularly scheduled meeting and end the Thursday after it, and the Board says participants observe the communication freeze to protect the transparency and integrity of the process.

Bowman, who became vice chair for supervision on June 9, 2025, denied discussing monetary policy at the event and denied violating any FOMC or ethics requirements. Her current term as vice chair runs through June 9, 2029. She was nominated by President Trump on March 24, 2025 and confirmed by the Senate on June 4 before being sworn in the following week.

The episode is politically sensitive because Bowman oversees bank supervision at the same moment the Fed is under intense scrutiny over interest rates, regulation and its independence. A closed-door dinner with clients of one of the country’s largest banks, including hedge fund executives and other financial industry figures, raises the question of how closely senior regulators should interact with the firms and markets they police.

Warren’s request fits a broader push she has made for stricter ethics and conflict-of-interest standards at the central bank. Horowitz, a former Justice Department inspector general, took over the Fed watchdog role effective June 30, 2025, putting him at the center of a dispute that could shape how the Fed handles outside contacts for senior officials going forward.