The Administration · Money, markets and the airwaves
Chair of the Federal Reserve
The president chose him to bring interest rates down; four months into the job, the central bank under Warsh raised them instead, citing inflation that has stayed above its target.
Kevin Warsh was born in Albany, New York, on April 13, 1970, and holds a public policy degree from Stanford and a law degree from Harvard. 1 2 He worked in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley from 1995 to 2002, then joined President George W. Bush's White House as an economic policy aide and executive secretary of the National Economic Council. 2 He is married to Jane Lauder of the Estee Lauder cosmetics family. 1
Bush put him on the Federal Reserve's board in 2006, and he served through the financial crisis until 2011. 2 He then became a fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, a lecturer at its business school and a partner in investor Stanley Druckenmiller's family office. 2 3 From outside he criticized the central bank's handling of inflation after the pandemic, its bank regulation and the size of its bond holdings. 3
Trump nominated him on January 30, 2026, to succeed Jerome Powell. 1 Republican Sen. Thom Tillis blocked the nomination until the Justice Department dropped a criminal investigation of Powell in April. 3 At his hearing Warsh promised to act independently. 3 The Senate confirmed him 54-45 on May 13, the narrowest vote ever for the post, and he took office on May 22 for a four-year term. 3 2
He held rates steady at his first meetings, then on September 16 the committee voted unanimously to raise its target by a quarter point to between 3.75 and 4 percent, the first increase since 2023. 4 The president had called officials who wanted higher rates clowns. 4 On October 28 the committee held rates by a 10-2 vote, with two members wanting another increase, and Warsh announced changes to how often it will meet to set policy. 6 5
The acts and events that have defined the post so far, oldest first.
Took office as chairman; his seat on the board runs to January 31, 2040. 2
At the Jackson Hole conference he said more than half of the items in the Fed's preferred price index had risen over 3 percent in a year, arguing inflation was not only about oil or tariffs. 4
The committee held rates at 3.75 to 4 percent by a 10-2 vote; Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissented in favor of a quarter-point increase. 6
Announced that from autumn 2027 one of the eight yearly policy meetings will become a strategy session with no rate vote, and that five task forces will report by year-end. 5
What critics, courts or investigators have said, and the answer given. An allegation is not a finding.
Sen. Thom Tillis and other senators held up his nomination because the Justice Department was investigating Jerome Powell, an inquiry a federal judge found was aimed at harassing Powell; Democrats feared Warsh would bend to the president on rates. 3
Their side: Warsh told senators he would decide independently and that independence in setting rates is essential. 3
He disclosed assets of more than $100 million, including holdings in a hedge fund tied to his former employer, according to Wikipedia. 1
Their side: No public response found.
He brought in Paul Winfree, who wrote the Federal Reserve section of the Project 2025 policy book, as a temporary adviser, according to Wikipedia. 1
Their side: No public response found.
Quotes from our stories, each matched word for word against its source before it ran.
“The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long”
New York Fed President John Williams said Friday that inflation has been too high for too long. The Fed raised rates in September and held them last week, so savers and borrowers should not expect quick relief.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates alone at its meeting this week, days before Election Day. Inflation rose to 3.7% in September, and voters blame President Trump's Iran war and tariffs.
File checked Nov. 13, 2026. Something wrong or out of date? Tell the desk.
