Kevin Warsh ’92 was confirmed as the next Federal Reserve chair in a 54 to 45 party-line Senate vote this afternoon.
U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Warsh for the position in late January, and the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance Warsh’s nomination to the full Senate at the end of April. Warsh will succeed Jerome H. Powell, whose term expires this Friday. Warsh is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, having served under the Bush administration from 2006 to 2011.
The Daily has reached out to Warsh for comment.
Warsh’s appointment follows conflict between Powell and Trump. When Powell refused to lower interest rates, Trump allies began questioning him about renovations to the Fed’s headquarters. Until the end of April, the Department of Justice investigated Powell for misrepresenting the costs of the renovations.
Warsh is a fellow at the Hoover Institution and the dean’s visiting scholar at the Graduate School of Business. During his Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing, Warsh credited Stanford for his monetary approach, describing his time at the Hoover Institution as instrumental to shaping his understanding of economic governance.
The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.
Warsh has criticized the Fed for increased inflation rates and high costs of living. “Inflation is a choice. It’s a choice for which the Fed is chiefly responsible,” wrote Warsh in a Wall Street Journal Opinion.
As chair, Warsh intends to lower interest rates and increase the Fed’s dependence on the federal government. “Run the printing press a little bit less. Let the balance sheet come down. Let Secretary Bessent handle the fiscal accounts, and in doing so, you can have materially lower interest rates,” said Warsh in an interview with Fox News.