Kevin Warsh wins Senate confirmation as the next Federal Reserve chair
Kevin Warsh was confirmed Wednesday as the next Federal Reserve chairman, taking over the central bank at a time when President Donald Trump is pushing to cut interest rates even as new inflation data makes cuts more difficult.
In the most divisive vote ever for a Fed chair, Warsh, 56, was confirmed to replace Jerome Powell, who has served in the top leadership position since 2018 and whose term ends Friday.
The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Warsh, ending a months-long saga that began in the summer of 2025 and included an extensive search for Powell’s successor. The vote was almost entirely along party lines; Only Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman crossed over to vote for Warsh, who would become the 11th Fed chairman of the modern banking era.
Powell will remain at the Fed because he has two years left in his term as chairman. He said last month that he would stay at least until a renewal of the investigation at the Fed’s headquarters was completed. No other Fed chairman has returned to the board in nearly 80 years.
Trump has made no secret that he expects Warsh to cut interest rates after repeatedly attacking Powell for monetary policy he views as too restrictive by the president. Warsh was part of a derby that featured nearly a dozen candidates at one point, including current Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman.
But the approval follows separate reports this week showing inflation is well above the Fed’s 2% target and pipeline pressures are accelerating at the highest levels in more than three years. Markets are reducing interest rate cut expectations and are even pricing in the possibility of an increase later this year.
Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., praised the Fed’s decision and Warsh’s commitment to fighting inflation.
“Chairman Warsh has repeatedly emphasized the importance of placing affordability and price stability at the center of our economic agenda,” Hill said in a statement. he said. “His commitment to disciplined monetary policy will help restore confidence in our economy and support long-term prosperity.”
Warsh could not be reached for comment.
This will be Warsh’s second stint at the Fed.
During his first term, he served from 2006-11, when Fed officials initially ignored the dangers from the subprime mortgage meltdown that led to the global financial crisis, then implemented a historic series of policies aimed at saving the economy. Part of this rescue effort included an unprecedented expansion of asset purchases that pushed the Fed’s balance sheet to over $4 trillion; This was a program known as quantitative easing, which Warsh claimed went too far at the time.
Warsh has been a constant critic of monetary policy since leaving the Fed and called for “regime change” at the central bank in an interview with CNBC last year. During this period, he worked as a lecturer at Stanford Business School and served on various boards of directors.
Warsh replaces Stephen Miran on the Fed board, who was appointed as governor in September 2025 to fill out the remaining few months of the unexpired term of Adriana Kugler, who unexpectedly resigned in August.
Miran has opposed every single Federal Open Market Committee vote since taking the seat. When the committee voted for a quarter-point cut in each of its last three meetings in 2025, Miran voiced support for a larger half-point cut. This year, he opposed votes to keep the federal funds rate steady, advocating quarter-point cuts.
Warsh’s first meeting as FOMC chairman will be held on June 16-17.
He would also be the richest Fed chairman ever, with assets well north of $100 million. As Fed chairman, he will be forced to divest most of his investments under the tough new policy implemented since questionable trading practices were revealed among top officials.
-Representative. He is from French Hill, Arkansas. An earlier version reported the status incorrectly.
