President Donald Trump announced Friday morning his nomination of Kevin Warsh—a former Federal Reserve governor—to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell, who was nominated by Trump during his first term and reappointed by former President Joe Biden.
“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,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post this morning. “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.”
The nomination comes as Jerome Powell’s term as Fed chair ends in May, concluding a contentious relationship between Trump and the central bank’s head over interest rate policy. If confirmed by the Senate, Warsh will assume leadership of the nation’s central bank following Powell’s term, which ends May 15.
Who is Kevin Warsh?
Warsh, Trump noted, currently serves as the Shepard Family distinguished visiting fellow in economics at the Hoover Institution and as a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Appointed by President George W. Bush, Warsh became the youngest Fed governor at 35 and served as a member of the Fed’s board of governors from 2006 until 2011.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was impressed by Warsh during an interview with him, and that the President might be flip-flopping between Hassett or Warsh as his favored nominee.
Warsh was on Trump’s shortlist of candidates, and following the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump teased at announcing his top candidate soon.
Some other top contenders included director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hasset; Fed Governor Christopher Waller; BlackRock’s Chief Bond Investment Manager Rick Rieder and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Powell only has two remaining Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings remaining during his term. During his January meeting this Wednesday, Powell gave the following token for the next chair:
“Stay out of elected politics…Another is that…our window into democratic accountability in Congress, and it’s not a passive burden for us to go to Congress and talk to people; it’s an affirmative, regular obligation. If you want democratic legitimacy, you earn it by your interactions with our elected overseers…It’s something you need to work hard at…I will tell whoever it is, ‘You’re about to meet the most qualified group of people…you will ever work with…and when you meet Fed staff, not everybody’s perfect, but there isn’t a better cadre of professionals more dedicated to the public wellbeing than work at the Fed.”
