President Donald Trump has nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as the central bank's chairman. The announcement, made on Friday via Truth Social, praises Warsh as a potential great leader for the Fed. Warsh requires Senate confirmation to assume the role when Powell's term ends in May.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday his nomination of Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, to serve as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. This move follows months of Trump's public vows to replace current chairman Jerome Powell, with whom he has clashed over interest rate policies. Trump posted on Truth Social: “I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to be the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM... I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best. On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down.”
Warsh's selection surprised observers, who had anticipated candidates like National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder, or Fed governor Christopher J. Waller. Trump addressed speculation about Hassett, noting his strong performance in the White House and reluctance to reassign him.
Born in 1970, Warsh began his career as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley before joining the George W. Bush administration as an economic adviser in 2002. In 2006, at age 35, President Bush appointed him to the Federal Reserve Board, making him the youngest governor in its history. Warsh served until 2011 and played key roles during the 2008 financial crisis, including coordination for the AIG bailout and the JPMorgan Chase acquisition of Bear Stearns.
Post-Fed, Warsh joined the UPS board, became a distinguished visiting fellow in economics at the Hoover Institution, lectures at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and serves as a partner at Duquesne Family Office. He is married to Jane Lauder, daughter of Estée Lauder heir Ronald Lauder, a Trump ally.
Known as a fiscal hawk, Warsh has criticized expansive Fed policies. In a 2010 speech, he stated: “The United States is not Greece... none of this is our birthright. It must be earned, and re-earned.” He opposed post-crisis quantitative easing and argued the Fed should not influence markets through asset purchases, a role better suited to the Treasury. Warsh has said: “The Federal Reserve is not a repair shop for broken fiscal, trade, or regulatory policies.”
Recently, however, Warsh has called for lower interest rates, criticizing Powell's caution: “Their hesitancy to cut rates... is actually quite a mark against them... we need regime change in the conduct of policy.” Despite this, Deutsche Bank's chief economist noted in December that Warsh is not “structurally dovish.”
With a Republican Senate majority, confirmation appears likely. Trump's tensions with the Fed persist, including a Justice Department probe into Powell and a Supreme Court case on firing Fed governor Lisa Cook.
