Trump picks Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as Fed Chairman amid rate-cut push

President Donald Trump named Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the US Federal Reserve, capping a five-month process marked by extraordinary political pressure on the central bank and persistent public attacks on its leadership. 

The announcement on January 30 brings to a close months of speculation over who Trump would select to lead the Fed, amid repeated attempts by the president to influence monetary policy by calling for aggressive interest-rate cuts. 

“I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to be the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM... 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 said in a Truth Social post announcing the decision. 

Warsh, 55, is a former Federal Reserve governor with deep ties to Wall Street and Washington policymaking circles. He previously interviewed for the role of Fed chair in 2017, when Trump ultimately chose Powell, whose term ends in May. 

Trump’s decision follows years of open hostility toward the Powell-led Fed. Since Powell’s confirmation in 2018 during Trump’s first term, the president has repeatedly criticised the central bank for keeping interest rates too high, pressing policymakers to cut borrowing costs more aggressively. Even after three successive rate reductions in late 2025, Trump continued his attacks, accusing Powell of moving too slowly and criticising cost overruns linked to the Fed’s headquarters renovation in Washington, DC. 

The selection of Warsh concludes a competitive process that, at its peak, included around 11 contenders. The shortlist ranged from current and former Fed officials to prominent economists and Wall Street executives, with interviews overseen by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 

Warsh served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, a period that spanned the global financial crisis. During that time, he played a key role in the Fed’s emergency response and represented the US central bank at meetings of the G20 group of major economies. 

A New Yorker, Warsh previously worked as a special assistant for economic policy between 2002 and 2006. He is currently a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds positions with logistics giant UPS, South Korea-based e-commerce firm Coupang, and Duquesne Family Office, the investment firm of billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller. 

While Warsh has historically warned about inflation risks in the US economy, he has more recently echoed Trump’s criticism that the Fed has been too slow to cut interest rates — views that are likely to fuel debate over the future independence and direction of US monetary policy under his leadership.