Kevin Warsh Sworn In As New Federal Chair Replacing Jerome Powell.

Washington DC; May 2026: Yesterday (22nd May 2026; 21:30 hours IST) Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Federal Reserve Chair, commencing his term as the new head of the central bank at a critical time for the U.S. economy.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas swore Warsh in during the yesterday’s ceremony at the White House. Warsh was confirmed last week by the Senate for a four-year term as Federal chair, largely along party lines.

Warsh, 56, returns to the Federal board after serving as a member from 2006 to 2011. He was nominated to the Federal by former President George W. Bush, whom he served as a White House economic adviser before becoming the youngest Federal board member in history.

A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Warsh also worked at Morgan Stanley and served in various academic and advisory roles outside of his government service. Warsh was most recently a fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, an influential conservative think tank known for its close ties to prominent Republican policymakers.

“He’s got abilities that very few people have,” Trump said, predicting Warsh would be remembered as one of the best chairs in Federal history.

Warsh replaces Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a fellow Republican whom Trump nominated to lead the Federal in 2017. However, loyalties quickly turned sour with Powell over the Federal’s refusal to zero out interest rates and stimulate the economy despite it already performing well under his leadership.

While Trump said earlier this week, he wouldn’t push Warsh toward specific policy decisions, the President made clear last year he would only nominate a Federal chair willing to bring interest rates down. “Kevin understands that when the economy is booming, it’s a good thing”, Trump said. “You want to stop inflation, but you don’t want to stop greatness. They’ll be listening to Kevin all the way. Even if they’re of a somewhat different persuasion than Kevin”, President Trump said.

Warsh, however, may find it difficult to steer the Federal toward rate cuts as inflation continues to surge, largely driven by the war in Iran.

Annual inflation spiked to 3.8% in April, as measured by the Labour Department’s consumer price index, well above the Federal’s target of 2 percent. Producer prices also rose last month at the highest annual rate in more than three years, which could lead to longer-term price increases across various goods and services.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the panel of Federal officials responsible for setting interest rates, has also been unusually divided over the future trajectory of the economy. The FOMC had voted 08-04 in April to keep interest rates unchanged, marking the first time four members dissented from a rate move in three decades.

Warsh will also operate under the shadow of Trump’s efforts to influence and reshape the Federal, which was created as a politically independent agency meant to be insulated from White House direction on monetary policy. Warsh will serve on the Federal board with Powell, who is taking the unusual step of remaining at the central bank after the end of his term as chair. Powell, 72, said in April he had planned to retire, but he felt it necessary to remain at the Federal until he was confident the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into himself and the bank was “well and truly over”.

The Supreme Court is also set to deliver its verdict in Federal board member Lisa Cook’s challenge to Trump’s attempt to fire her. The Federal Reserve Act stipulates that Federal board members can only be fired “for cause”, which courts have generally held to mean severe misconduct or incapacity in office.

After the Justice Department sought to indict Cook on allegations of mortgage fraud, Trump claimed the case as sufficient cause for her firing. Cook sued to remain in office and was granted a restraining order to allow her to remain at the Federal. The court is expected to announce its decision by the end of June.

 Team Maverick.