Kevin Warsh takes Fed chair today

Kevin Warsh became chair of the Federal Reserve on Friday, May 22, 2026, after Jerome Powell’s term ended and the central bank temporarily kept Powell in place as chair pro tempore until the handoff. The Federal Reserve said on May 15 that Powell would serve in that interim role until Warsh was sworn in. Reuters reported earlier this week that President Donald Trump was set to administer the oath at a White House ceremony on Friday. Warsh arrives with a long history at the institution he now leads. The 56-year-old lawyer and financier previously served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, including during the 2008 financial crisis, and has spent years since then criticizing the central bank’s policy framework, communications and internal culture, according to Reuters. (federalreserve.gov) ### How did Warsh get the job? The U.S. Senate confirmed Warsh as the next Fed chair on May 13 by a 54-45 vote, clearing the way for the transition before Powell’s chair term expired. Reuters also reported on May 12 that the Senate had first confirmed Warsh to a 14-year term as a Federal Reserve governor, a necessary step before he could assume the chairmanship. (msn.com) Powell’s chair term ended on May 15, but he remains on the Board of Governors because his separate term as a governor runs until January 2028. Powell said in April that he planned to keep “a low profile” once Warsh was confirmed and sworn in, according to contemporaneous reporting. ### Why was Powell kept on temporarily? (politico.com) The Federal Reserve said the May 15 stopgap was “consistent with past practice during similar transitions between chairs.” In a separate statement that day, Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Stephen Miran said the timing created “a unique situation unlike any historical precedent” because the prior chair’s term ended before the already confirmed successor had been sworn in. (federalreserve.gov) That meant the central bank used a short bridge arrangement rather than leave the chair’s office vacant. The Fed’s public statements did not describe any change to the institution’s statutory responsibilities during that interim period. ### What does Warsh control starting now? The Federal Reserve chair leads the Board of Governors and serves as the public face of U.S. monetary policy, but rate decisions are made by the 12-member Federal Open Market Committee. (federalreserve.gov) The chair sets the tone of policy discussions, oversees the Board’s agenda and conducts the post-meeting press conference after FOMC decisions. Reuters said Warsh takes over as inflation has reaccelerated and as Trump has publicly pressed the Fed to cut interest rates faster. Reuters also reported that Warsh’s own past remarks offer a baseline for how markets will judge his first weeks in office, especially after years of criticism of the Fed’s direction. (federalreserve.gov) ### What about the claim that stocks often fall after a new Fed chair arrives? Posts on X circulated a chart claiming the S&P 500 often drops about 12% in the first three months after a new Fed chair takes office. That statistic appeared in social-media commentary, not in the Federal Reserve’s statements or in the primary reporting reviewed here, and I could not independently verify the underlying calculation from an authoritative source. (usnews.com) Markets will instead get a direct read on Warsh through the Fed’s scheduled decisions and communications. The Federal Reserve’s calendar lists the next FOMC meeting for June 16-17, 2026, which is set to be Warsh’s first regular policy meeting as chair. (federalreserve.gov) (bloomberg.com)