JUST IN: Trump Unveils His Choose For Federal Reserve Chair
President Donald Trump on Friday named Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve, ending a long and often turbulent saga surrounding the central bank’s leadership.
The move caps a process that formally began last summer but has been years in the making, as Trump repeatedly clashed with the Powell-led Fed almost from the moment Powell took the job in 2018.
“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 in a Truth Social post announcing the pick.
Warsh, 55, is a former Fed governor and longtime Wall Street fixture, a background that has reassured markets wary of a more overtly political appointment. Investors largely expect continuity in the near term and do not see Warsh as a rubber stamp for the White House.
“He has the respect and credibility of the financial markets,” said David Bahnsen, chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“There was no person who was going to get this job who wasn’t going to be cutting rates in the short term. However, I believe longer term he will be a credible candidate,” Bahnsen added.
Stock futures were slightly lower Friday morning, though they recovered from earlier losses as Warsh’s selection became clear.
Since Powell’s confirmation during Trump’s first term, the president has relentlessly pressured the Fed to slash interest rates. Even after three rate cuts in late 2025, Trump continued to demand more aggressive easing while blasting Powell over cost overruns tied to the Fed’s sprawling renovation of its Washington headquarters.
Warsh, for his part, has signaled little patience for the status quo. In a CNBC interview last summer, he called for a “regime change” at the Fed.
“The credibility deficit lies with the incumbents that are at the Fed, in my view,” he said during the July interview.
That posture could put Warsh at odds with an institution that traditionally relies on consensus and internal alignment to steer monetary policy.
Trump’s decision comes at a fraught moment for the central bank, with inflation still lingering, federal borrowing surging, and political scrutiny of the Fed reaching levels rarely seen in modern times.
Tensions escalated further after the Justice Department subpoenaed Powell over the Fed’s construction project. In a rare public rebuke, Powell said the move was a “pretext” aimed at pressuring the central bank to follow Trump’s demands and loosen policy further.
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