Jonathan McKernan, nominated to be Undersecretary for Domestic Finance at the Treasury Department, told the Senate Finance Committee hearing that he would make regulatory tailoring and financial‑market functioning priorities if confirmed.

McKernan described his approach in his opening statement and responses to senators: "We need to continually revisit our financial regulatory framework to ensure that it is aligned with the actual risk that we're trying to regulate," he said, adding that tailoring is a "guiding star." He cited his 17 years in financial‑services law and recent service on the FDIC board as relevant experience.

Senators pressed McKernan on several fronts. Senator Elizabeth Warren cited market behavior after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and asked whether the market now expects uninsured deposits at large banks to be protected while depositors at smaller banks will not. McKernan acknowledged the perception and said it "may have tended to reinforce that market perception." He told senators he would support congressional action to raise the cap on deposit insurance for business transaction accounts and said Treasury would be "eager to see" legislation to that effect.

Senators from both parties questioned strategies to bolster community banks. Senator James Lankford described concerns that thresholds triggering heightened supervision had not been adjusted for inflation and asked whether McKernan would advocate revisiting that policy; McKernan praised an FDIC proposal to index dollar thresholds and said Treasury would advocate a "fresh look." He told Senator Lankford he would "certainly be advocating for a fresh look at this issue."

On privacy and data access, Senator Ben Luján and others pressed McKernan to defend taxpayer privacy; he answered affirmatively when asked whether he would "stand up for taxpayer privacy and follow the law" if confirmed.

McKernan also addressed questions about growth and deficits. Asked whether rising federal debt was an impediment to growth, he said the debt dynamics were a problem that growth could help address and that the fiscal trajectory must be corrected.

McKernan noted areas he would target if confirmed: modernizing the deposit insurance framework, revisiting tailoring for community banks and anti‑money‑laundering rules, and ensuring that Treasury supports a competitive role for community banks in lending to local businesses.

No committee roll‑call on McKernan’s nomination appears in the transcript.