Donald Trump has said he will nominate Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, backing a well-known policymaker to run the US central bank at a time when it is facing one of the most severe tests of its independence.<\/p>\n
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, the US president wrote: \u201cI am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to be the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI 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 \u2018central casting,\u2019 and he will never let you down. Congratulations Kevin!\u201d<\/p>\n
Warsh, a former Fed governor, will succeed Jay Powell when his term as Fed chair ends in May, subject to Senate approval. <\/p>\n
The Stanford academic and partner at billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller\u2019s family office is well regarded on Wall Street and his nomination will ease worries about the president\u2019s relentless pressure campaign to force the Fed to lower borrowing costs. <\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s decision to nominate Warsh, 55, caps the most contentious race to head the world\u2019s most important central bank in recent memory. It comes at a time when economic growth is strong, but inflation remains elevated and the jobs market is showing signs of cooling after years of robust hiring. <\/p>\n
Warsh, who served as a Fed governor during the 2008 financial crisis, has echoed Treasury secretary Scott Bessent\u2019s calls for an overhaul of the Fed\u2019s governance, calling for \u201cregime change\u201d at the central bank. <\/p>\n
However, some viewed him as a long shot since his calls to shrink the Fed\u2019s balance sheet could clash with the president\u2019s demands for low rates. Long-term US borrowing costs and the US dollar were both up in early New York trading on Friday. <\/p>\n
Warsh had already interviewed for the top job once,\u00a0in 2017, when Trump instead went for Powell, a man he quickly fell out with and has since labelled a \u201cmoron\u201d and \u201cstubborn mule\u201d over his reluctance to slash rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Warsh\u2019s candidacy received a boost after bond investors and Wall Street executives voiced concerns that the man who was for a long time his closest rival,\u00a0White House economist Kevin Hassett,\u00a0would lower rates indiscriminately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chief executive, signalled his backing for Warsh, while Citadel\u2019s Ken Griffin warned the president that picking a close ally for the job could hamper the Fed\u2019s ability to fight inflation.<\/p>\n
A late show of support for BlackRock executive Rick Rieder failed amid concerns over the bond-market veteran\u2019s donations to leading Democrats and Trump\u2019s Republican rival Nikki Haley. <\/p>\n
Warsh built up his contacts on Wall Street in 2008, when he acted as the conduit between Fed officials and investors, helping to steer the central bank\u2019s response to one of the most severe crises since the Great Depression.<\/p>\n
He has since criticised elements of that response, arguing that the Fed\u2019s balance sheet became bloated following vast bond-buying sprees under successive quantitative easing programmes.<\/p>\n
Warsh shares Bessent\u2019s view that the Fed has strayed beyond its original remit, becoming too powerful and taking actions that blur the lines between monetary policy and fiscal policy. <\/p>\n
If he is confirmed by the Senate, Warsh will assume the top position at a central bank divided over whether to prioritise fighting persistently high inflation or seeking to bolster a faltering jobs market.<\/p>\n
The Fed cut rates three times in 2025, bringing US borrowing costs to a three-year low. However, officials at the central bank kept borrowing costs on hold this week and have offered starkly differing assessments on the path of monetary policy in 2026. <\/p>\n
Stephen Miran, a Trump ally who joined the Fed in September, has said rates should be far lower, arguing that \u201cphantom inflation\u201d caused by housing prices and other measures is distorting the central bank\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n
Two of the regional Fed presidents who sit on the central bank\u2019s rate-setting board \u2014\u00a0Lorie Logan, of the Dallas Fed, and her counterpart in Cleveland, Beth Hammack \u2014 have forcefully objected to further rate cuts. <\/p>\n
The challenge facing the Fed deepened this month after US prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into Powell over a $2.5bn renovation of the central bank\u2019s headquarters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The probe drew a sharp rebuke from Powell, who said it was part of a series of threats from the White House intended to curb the Fed\u2019s independence to set interest rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A backlash in the Senate against the probe, including from Republicans on the influential banking committee, could complicate the former Fed governor\u2019s nomination. <\/p>\n