President Donald Trump selected Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve on January 30, choosing a former central bank governor who left the institution in 2011 and has spent the years since arguing that monetary policy was too easy.
Warsh will take the seat when Jerome Powell's term as chair expires on May 15. The nomination immediately repriced expectations for the rate path, with futures markets shifting toward a harder line on inflation under new leadership.
Who Is Kevin Warsh
Warsh served on the Fed's Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, arriving as a rare Republican appointee on a panel dominated by Democrats. Since leaving, he has been a frequent critic of quantitative easing and of what he has called the Fed's drift toward social policy.
Why It Matters Now
The nomination lands as inflation expectations have crept back up, energy prices swing with every Iran headline, and the administration pushes for cuts the sitting Fed has resisted. Warsh's record suggests he will be harder to press than Powell, not easier.
Senate Banking Committee hearings are expected in the spring, and Warsh's answers on the independence of the central bank will draw more scrutiny than his rate views.
