Kevin Warsh sworn in as Fed chair

President Donald Trump swore in Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve on May 22, handing the central bank to a former Fed governor who now begins a four-year term running through May 21, 2030. 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 chair. Jerome Powell's tenure as chair ended the same day, though Powell remains a governor on the Board. CNBC reported that Trump used the ceremony to underline his push for lower interest rates. ### How did Warsh actually take office? The Federal Reserve said in a May 22 press release that Warsh took the oath of office as chairman and as a member of the Board of Governors. The same release said the FOMC unanimously selected him as its chairman, formalizing his role atop the central bank's rate-setting body. Kevin Warsh's official Fed biography says he took office on May 22 for a four-year term ending May 21, 2030. The White House posted video of Trump's swearing-in ceremony from that day. ### What changes for Jerome Powell now? Jerome Powell's Fed biography says he served as chair from February 5, 2018, to May 22, 2026. The biography also says Powell's term as a governor runs until January 31, 2028. The Fed had said on May 15 that Powell would serve as chair pro tempore until Warsh was sworn in. That arrangement ended once Warsh took office on May 22, leaving Powell on the Board but no longer in the chair. ### How did Warsh get the job? The U.S. Senate confirmed Warsh in two votes in mid-May. Senate records show lawmakers confirmed him on May 12 as a member of the Board of Governors for a 14-year term from February 1, 2026, and on May 13 as chairman for a four-year term. The White House had announced Warsh's nomination on January 30. Trump, who first considered Warsh for the Fed's top job in 2017 before choosing Powell, returned to him this year after months of public attacks on Powell over interest rates, according to CNBC. ### What has Trump said he wants from the new chair? CNBC reported on May 22 that Trump made clear he wants lower rates, both around the swearing-in ceremony and later at a rally in Suffern, New York. CNBC said Trump told the crowd rates would come down "very quickly" and praised Warsh after calling Powell a "rotten" Fed chief. CNN said Warsh's early tenure begins at a moment when Trump has been publicly pressing the central bank to ease policy. Reuters reported the same day that Fed Governor Christopher Waller called current rate-cut talk "crazy" and said the Fed should remove its "easing bias" from its policy statement. ### What does the Fed calendar say happens next? The Federal Reserve's 2026 calendar lists the next FOMC meeting for June 16-17, with a press conference scheduled for June 17. That is Warsh's first regularly scheduled policy meeting as chair. The Fed's meeting-calendars page says the FOMC holds eight regularly scheduled meetings each year. Minutes from the June 16-17 meeting would be released three weeks after the policy decision, according to the same page. (federalreserve.gov)