Trump Makes His Pick for the Next Fed Chairman

President Trump has made his choice for Fed chairman. The president, who teased the announcement Thursday night, said in a Truth Social post Friday morning that he is nominating economist Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, to replace Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May.

• "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," the president wrote in a lengthy post listing Warsh's accomplishments. "On top of everything else, he is 'central casting,' and he will never let you down."

Warsh was a finalist in 2017 but lost out to Jerome Powell, who was renominated by Joe Biden in 2021. Trump later turned on Powell and has repeatedly said he regretted not picking Warsh, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Kevin, I could have used you a little bit here. Why weren't you more forceful when you wanted that job?" Trump said at an event in 2020. "I would have been very happy with you." Warsh, 55, became the youngest governor in Fed history in 2006.

Warsh served as a Fed governor during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and has since become one of the institution's sharper critics. He was long a "hawk" who pushed for higher interest rates to control inflation but has more recently changed his position and pushed for faster interest rate cuts, aligning with Trump's position, the AP reports. Warsh, once a free-trade advocate, has also lined up with Trump on tariffs, a position that could ease tensions between the White House and the Fed if he's confirmed. The BBC reports that Warsh has a family connection to Trump: His father-in-law is billionaire businessman Ronald Lauder, a longtime Trump donor.

Confirmation is not guaranteed, the Journal notes. The Senate must sign off, and Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican on the Banking Committee, has vowed to block Trump's Fed nominees while the Justice Department investigates Powell's testimony about Fed building renovations—an inquiry Powell has described as a pretext to force lower rates. Warsh emerged as Trump's favored candidate over National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett and two other finalists, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder and current Fed governor Christopher Waller.