Kevin Warsh confirmed 54-45 Fed chair

Kevin Warsh is set to take over the Federal Reserve after the Senate confirmed him as chair on May 13 in a 54-45 vote. The confirmation gives President Donald Trump his pick to lead the U.S. central bank as inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% goal and the benchmark interest rate stays at 3.5% to 3.75%. The Senate’s vote list shows the nomination as PN855-1, a four-year term as chair of the Board of Governors. Federal Reserve materials say the chair must already be a board member, and Warsh was separately confirmed this week to a 14-year term on the board. ### What exactly did the Senate approve? The Senate confirmed Warsh on May 13 as “Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a term of four years,” according to the chamber’s nominations record. The Senate’s current-session roll call page lists the result as vote No. 120, with 54 yeas and 45 nays. The same Senate nominations page shows Warsh was also confirmed on May 12 to be a member of the Board of Governors for a 14-year term beginning February 1, 2026. (senate.gov) Federal Reserve rules posted on the board’s website say the president nominates the chair from among the governors and the Senate confirms that four-year chairmanship separately. ### Where did the one crossover vote show up? (senate.gov) The Senate’s cloture vote on May 12 was narrower and showed the crossover. The roll call page for vote No. 117 says senators voted 51-45 to end debate on Warsh’s chair nomination, with four senators not voting. That page lists Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, voting yes on cloture while most Democrats voted no. (senate.gov) The final confirmation vote page available through the Senate’s current vote list shows 54-45, but the detailed member-by-member breakdown for that final roll call was not surfaced in the materials reviewed here. What is verified from Senate records is that the crossover appeared on cloture, not just in commentary around the nomination. ### When does Warsh actually become Fed chair? (senate.gov) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on April 29 that “when Kevin Warsh is confirmed and sworn in, he will be that Chair.” Powell added that once Warsh is sworn in as board chair, his colleagues will elect him to chair the Federal Open Market Committee, the panel that sets interest rates. (senate.gov) The Fed’s board-members page says all statutory board terms end on their set date regardless of when a member is sworn in, while the chair and vice chair positions carry separate four-year terms. That means the operational handoff depends on the swearing-in, not just the Senate vote. ### What policy backdrop is Warsh walking into? Powell said on April 29 that the Federal Open Market Committee left the policy rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%. (federalreserve.gov) He said total PCE inflation rose 3.5% in the 12 months through March, while core PCE rose 3.2%, and described inflation as still elevated relative to the Fed’s longer-run 2% goal. (federalreserve.gov) The same press conference transcript said the unemployment rate was 4.3% in March and that job gains had remained low. Powell said higher global energy prices and tariffs were contributing to inflation pressures and uncertainty in the outlook. ### What should readers watch next? The Federal Reserve’s public board roster still listed Jerome H. (federalreserve.gov) Powell as chair when it was last opened for this report. The next concrete sign of the transition will be Warsh’s swearing-in and the board website updating its leadership page. The next scheduled policy milestone is the Fed’s next rate-setting process, where the chair also leads the Federal Open Market Committee after election by fellow policymakers, as Powell described on April 29. (federalreserve.gov 1) (federalreserve.gov 2)