The U.S. Senate on Wednesday, May 13 officially confirmed Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve.
According to CNBC, the 56-year-old Warsh will succeed Jerome Powell as the 11th chair of the Federal Reserve. Powell has served as Fed chair since 2018, and his term will end this Friday.
The Senate approved the nomination by a vote of 54 to 45. The vote was almost entirely along party lines, with only Democratic Senator John Fetterman crossing party lines to support Warsh.
The political battle over the position began in the summer of 2025, when the White House launched a large-scale selection process to find Powell’s successor. In addition to Warsh, the shortlist at one point included nearly 10 candidates, among them current Federal Reserve governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman.
Donald Trump has long publicly criticized Powell, arguing that his monetary policy was too restrictive. Trump repeatedly called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in order to stimulate the U.S. economy. Now that Warsh has been officially confirmed, markets are closely watching whether the Fed will shift toward a significantly looser monetary policy stance.
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White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement: “The Senate’s confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve is a welcome step towards finally restoring accountability, competence, and confidence in Fed decision-making.”
In a press release, Republican Congressman French Hill praised Warsh for his strong anti-inflation stance.
Hill said: “Chairman Warsh has repeatedly emphasized the importance of placing affordability and price stability at the center of our economic agenda. … His commitment to disciplined monetary policy will help restore confidence in our economy and support long-term prosperity.”
According to Forbes, Warsh earned his law degree from Harvard University in 1995. He later joined Morgan Stanley as a banker, eventually rising to vice president and executive director. In 2002, he joined the administration of George W. Bush, serving as executive secretary of the National Economic Council.
Warsh served as a Federal Reserve governor from 2006 to 2011. During that time, the United States experienced the subprime mortgage crisis, which eventually escalated into the global financial crisis. In response, the Federal Reserve introduced unprecedented large-scale rescue measures, including massive asset purchases and a significant expansion of its balance sheet — policies that later became widely known as “quantitative easing” (QE).
However, Warsh later argued that the quantitative easing policies implemented at the time “went too far.”
After leaving the Federal Reserve, Warsh became a long-time critic of U.S. monetary policy and gradually emerged as an influential voice on Wall Street and within conservative economic circles.
Outside finance, Warsh has also served in recent years as a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and has held positions on the boards of several companies.
Under the arrangement, Warsh will take over the Federal Reserve Board seat currently held by Stephen Miran. Miran was appointed in September 2025 to fill the temporary vacancy left after the sudden resignation of former governor Adriana Kugler.
Warsh’s first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting as chair will take place on June 16–17, when markets will closely watch for policy signals from the first meeting under his leadership.
Warsh is also set to become one of the wealthiest Federal Reserve chairs in U.S. history. According to disclosures, his personal net worth exceeds $100 million.