Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh for Federal Reserve Chair, Calls Pick Out of ‘Central Casting’

Donald Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, selecting him to succeed Jerome Powell after a months-long, closely watched search.

Trump announced the choice on Friday, Jan. 30 in a post on Truth Social, calling Warsh a longtime confidant and predicting he would excel in the role.

“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,” Trump wrote.

“On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down,” Trump added. “Congratulations Kevin!”

The nomination wraps up a competitive process led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that reportedly considered more than a dozen contenders. Finalists also included National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder and current Fed Governor Christopher Waller, CNN reported.

Warsh, 55, served as a Federal Reserve governor from 2006 to 2011 after being appointed by former President George W. Bush. At the time, he was the youngest Fed governor in history. During the 2008 financial crisis, he played a key advisory role to then-chair Ben Bernanke.

If confirmed, Warsh would become the second consecutive non-economist to lead the central bank. He earned a law degree from Harvard and is married to Jane Lauder, an heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics fortune.

His nomination arrives at a turbulent moment for the Fed, which has faced intensifying political scrutiny as inflation has remained stubborn, job growth has cooled and government borrowing has climbed.

Trump, who originally selected Powell to lead the Fed in 2017, has repeatedly criticized him for not cutting interest rates more aggressively during both of his terms, The New York Times reported. Trump has also accused the central bank of mismanagement, including cost overruns tied to the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters renovation.

Powell’s four-year term as chair ends May 23, though he still has two years remaining in his term as a Fed governor. Historically, chairs step down from the board after leaving the top post, but Powell has not said whether he plans to do so this time.

Warsh has been a vocal critic of the modern Federal Reserve, arguing the institution has stretched beyond its mandate and weakened its credibility. In a CNBC interview last summer, he called for “regime change” at the central bank, saying the “credibility deficit lies with the incumbents.”

He has also criticized the Fed’s quantitative easing programs and its regulatory approach, arguing that reducing the central bank’s $6.5 trillion balance sheet could create room for lower interest rates, Axios reported.

At the same time, Warsh has said he believes Trump’s tax and deregulatory agenda is setting the stage for a new burst of economic growth, according to Axios. In a November essay, he argued that “the U.S. is poised to grow faster than any other major economy” and that the Federal Reserve should allow that expansion to proceed rather than move to restrain it.

Despite Warsh’s public critiques, market analysts have suggested he would still preserve the Fed’s independence from the White House if confirmed, The Times reported. The question has grown more pressing as Trump has repeatedly urged the central bank to cut rates, and administration officials have floated ideas that would expand White House influence over monetary policy decisions.

Those concerns are likely to shadow Warsh’s confirmation process, which is already shaping up to be contentious. Sen. Thom Tillis has said he plans to block Fed nominations until a Justice Department investigation into the Fed’s construction project is completed, CNBC reported.