US President Donald Trump has announced Kevin Warsh as his choice for the nomination of the next chair of the US Federal Reserve, describing him as a candidate who would rank among the greatest to ever lead the central bank.
Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social platform, ending with strong praise for the former Federal Reserve official.
“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. On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down. Congratulations, Kevin!” Trump wrote.
Warsh, 55, later met with Trump at the White House, according to a source cited by Reuters. His nomination comes as Trump prepares to replace current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term as chair ends in May and whose tenure has been marked by repeated clashes with the president over interest rate policy.
During his first term in office, Trump had passed over Warsh in favour of Powell, a decision he later said he regretted after Powell resisted calls to cut interest rates as aggressively as Trump wanted. This time, Trump made support for lower interest rates an explicit criterion for selecting a Fed chair. Warsh, along with the other finalists identified by Trump officials, has argued that the Federal Reserve should be lowering rates more than it has.
The nomination of a successor to Powell, which still requires Senate confirmation, comes amid what analysts describe as unprecedented efforts by a US president to exert influence over the central bank. The Federal Reserve’s independence from political pressure has traditionally been viewed as central to its mandate to control inflation and maintain economic stability.
Trump’s broader push includes an attempt to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, a case currently before the US Supreme Court, as well as a Department of Justice probe that Powell has described as part of a wider effort by the administration to intimidate the Federal Reserve.
Powell has declined to say whether he will remain on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors after his term as chair expires, a move that would be highly unusual. If he stays on, it would prevent Trump from filling another vacancy on the board and could complicate leadership dynamics under a new chair. Powell’s term as a Fed governor runs until 2028.
Trump’s announcement came earlier than expected. He had previously indicated that he would make his choice public next week, but instead revealed it on Friday. A White House schedule released late on Thursday did not explicitly indicate a nomination announcement, listing only a late-morning executive order signing and a mid-afternoon policy meeting.
Source: Reuters.com
