U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick introduced the nominee to chair the Federal Reserve at a contentious Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday, describing him as a personal friend who he said is the “right man for this pivotal moment.”

“He will shake up a stagnant institution at a time when change is sorely needed,” McCormick, a Republican from Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill, said of nominee Kevin Warsh.

McCormick, a member of the GOP-led Banking Committee, said he first met Warsh in the late 1990s when Warsh and McCormick’s brother worked as junior associates on Wall Street. During the financial crisis about a decade later, McCormick said he and Warsh worked “hand in hand to contain the damage and navigate the country through the crisis” when McCormick served as under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs and Warsh was a Federal Reserve board member.

Former President George W. Bush nominated Warsh to the Fed board in 2006. Then 35, he became the youngest appointed board member in the Fed’s history.

“Kevin came to Washington all those years ago as an outsider, an idealistic young man determined to serve his country,” McCormick said in his introduction. “He returns today as the ideal candidate to lead the Fed at this most crucial juncture.”

During the hearing, Democrats on the committee accused Warsh of flip-flopping on interest rates over the years, supporting higher interest rates under Democratic presidents and advocating rate cuts during President Trump’s time in office.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Warsh would be the “chosen sock puppet” of Trump as Fed chair and accused him of not complying with ethics requirements by failing to disclose all of his financial holdings.

Trump has repeatedly called on the Fed to cut interest rates. Warsh said Trump has not asked him “to commit to any particular interest rate decision,” and he vowed to be an “independent actor” if confirmed as chair.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he wouldn’t vote for Warsh until a Justice Department investigation of the Fed and current Fed Chair Jerome Powell is dropped. Powell’s term as chair ends May 15.

During a break in the hearing, McCormick said in a video on X, “Unfortunately the Democrats, particularly Elizabeth Warren, are playing politics with this. Just a vicious attack on him, a bunch of unfounded assertions.”

“We’ve got to get him in place,” McCormick added. “It’s critical for our country to have a new Federal Reserve chair. Kevin Warsh is going to be terrific.”

The Associated Press contributed.