US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he has nominated banker and economist Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, replacing Jerome Powell. "I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh," Trump said on the Truth Social network, where he provided details about his resume, highlighting that at age 35 he became the youngest Federal Reserve governor in history (2006-2011). "I have known Kevin for a long time and I have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT presidents of the Fed, perhaps the best," the US president added, defending that he has "the perfect profile" and "will never disappoint." Trump noted that Warsh became in 2006 the youngest governor of the Fed system and worked as an economic advisor to George W. Bush and is currently linked to the Hoover Institution, one of the most important conservative think tanks in California. Warsh, 55, was also one of Trump's candidates during his first term to head the Federal Reserve, for which he chose Jerome Powell in 2017. If confirmed by the Senate, Warsh will take the reins of a Fed that faces doubts about its independence, after Trump has insisted since his return to the White House in January 2025 that interest rates should be lowered more continuously and quickly. Trump placed Stephen Miran on the board that makes up the Open Market Committee (FOMC), which decides on interest rates, in September, and his Administration has initiated an unprecedented process to force the departure of Lisa Cook, a member of the same body. The official has aggressively criticized Powell and even subjected him to an investigation for the cost overruns of the Federal Reserve building renovation, while calling for the pace of rate cuts to be accelerated, which began in September 2024. Powell assumed leadership of the central bank in February 2018 and was kept in his post by President Joe Biden (2021-2025) and has since been responsible for weathering crises such as the pandemic, when inflation reached record highs. Warsh was a governor from 2002 to 2011 who showed great caution about inflation, currently above the 2% target, but since last year he has shown more favor for keeping interest rates lower than current ones. The nominee will face questioning during his nomination hearings in the Senate on whether he will be able to maintain his independence from Trump and make monetary policy decisions following the Fed's mandate to contain inflation, maintain full employment, and foster economic growth.
