Kevin M. Warsh sworn in as Fed chair

Kevin M. Warsh was sworn in as chairman of the Federal Reserve on May 22, taking office as inflation concerns remained elevated and as President Donald Trump continued to press for lower interest rates. The Federal Reserve said Warsh also took office as a member of the Board of Governors and that the Federal Open Market Committee unanimously selected him as its chairman. The appointment puts Warsh atop the U.S. central bank at a moment when Fed officials are signaling caution about easing policy. Governor Christopher Waller said in a speech the same day that inflation was “not headed in the right direction” and that he could no longer rule out rate hikes later if price pressures did not ease. (federalreserve.gov) Trump nominated Warsh on March 4, 2026, and the Senate confirmed him to the Board on May 12 and as chair on May 13, the Fed said. Jerome H. Powell had been serving as chair pro tempore since May 15, pending Warsh’s swearing-in. ### How did Warsh formally take over the Fed? (federalreserve.gov) The Federal Reserve said on May 22 that Warsh took the oath of office as chairman and as a member of the Board of Governors. The central bank said the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets monetary policy, unanimously selected him as its chairman the same day. (federalreserve.gov) Warsh’s four-year term as chair runs through May 21, 2030, and his term as a Board member runs through January 31, 2040, according to the Fed’s biography page. ### Why are inflation and rates central to his first day? Christopher Waller said in Frankfurt on May 22 that higher energy and commodity prices were pushing up headline inflation and other goods prices. “Inflation is not headed in the right direction,” Waller said, adding that he would support removing “easing bias” language from the policy statement so that a rate cut was “no more likely in the future than a rate increase.” (federalreserve.gov 1) (federalreserve.gov 2) Waller also said he was not arguing for immediate rate increases. He said the labor market was not booming and that tighter policy could do damage, but added that he could no longer rule out hikes later “if inflation does not abate soon.” ### What is Warsh’s background inside and outside the Fed? (federalreserve.gov) Warsh previously served on the Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, according to the Fed biography released after he took office. After leaving the Board, he worked at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and was also a partner at Duquesne Family Office. (federalreserve.gov) Before his earlier Fed service, Warsh worked at Morgan Stanley and served in the George W. Bush White House as special assistant to the president for economic policy and executive secretary of the National Economic Council, the biography said. ### What happened to Powell during the transition? (federalreserve.gov) The Federal Reserve Board said on May 15 that Powell would serve as chair pro tempore until Warsh was sworn in. The Board said that temporary step was consistent with past practice during similar transitions between chairs. (federalreserve.gov) The Fed’s current Board roster lists Powell as a governor alongside Vice Chair Philip N. Jefferson, Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman, Michael S. Barr, Lisa D. Cook and Waller. ### What comes next at the central bank? Warsh now chairs both the Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed said, giving him the lead role in the central bank’s next policy decisions. (federalreserve.gov) His first months in office will coincide with a debate inside the Fed over whether inflation is easing enough to justify lower rates or whether policy may need to stay tight longer. (federalreserve.gov) That debate was visible in Waller’s May 22 speech and in the Fed’s own transition announcements. (federalreserve.gov)