Washington DC: President Donald Trump announced on Friday the nomination of former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair, replacing Jerome Powell whose term expires in May.
The move signals Trump’s intent to instal a loyalist aligned with his economic vision of deregulation and inflation amid market volatility.
The 55-year-old Warsh, who served on the Fed Board from 2006-2011, is a hawkish select ignoring aggressive rate cuts to spur growth while criticising Powell’s ‘behind-the-curve’ policies during the 2022 inflation surge.
“Kevin understands Main Street, not just Wall Street — he’ll deliver 3% growth without the Fed’s overreach,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago. He praised Warsh’s role in the 2008 crisis response and his recent Stanford Hoover Institution critiques of quantitative tightening.
Powell, who was appointed by Trump in 2018, faces ouster despite legal protections for the Chair role.
Markets dipped initially — S&P 500 down 0.8% — on fears of politicisation, echoing Trump’s first-term Fed clashes.
