Warshach test: Trump’s Fed chairman pick keeps monetary analysts guessing
Law enforcement shouldn't be political.
President Donald Trump has pummeled Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for years over interest rate policy. But in just mere months, Powell’s term will be up. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh has been nominated by Trump to succeed Powell as the central bank’s top official. Here is what to expect.
Powell, 73, is set to depart as Fed chairman in May, though he has the option to remain on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors until Jan. 31, 2028. Such a move would no doubt anger Trump, who chose Powell as Fed chairman during his first White House term.
Trump announced last month that he had chosen Warsh, 55, to be the next Fed chairman over National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. The pick came as a surprise to some, given that Hassett was seen as the front-runner for the job for some time.
The backdrop
Trump has been hounding Powell and the Fed to cut interest rates more aggressively since he entered his second term. Trump’s push for lower interest rates was undoubtedly a top agenda item in interviews that the president conducted for the role.
Kevin Warsh. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But the pick also comes at a time when Fed independence is being closely scrutinized.
POWELL DEFENDS FED INDEPENDENCE IN FIRST QUESTIONS ABOUT DOJ INQUIRY
In January, Powell announced that the Justice Department was investigating him, and that the central bank recently received grand jury subpoenas related to testimony he gave to the Senate last year about renovation cost overruns at the Fed headquarters building in Washington.
Powell tied the blame squarely to Trump’s crusade for lower rates and said the inquiry was simply a pretext to pressure him on monetary policy. The extraordinary accusation sparked some concern even from some congressional Republicans.
Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, threatened to block any of Trump’s Fed nominees until the legal matter concludes. Tillis reiterated that the threat still holds after Warsh’s nomination, but called Warsh a “qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy.”
Who is Warsh?
Warsh has experience at the Fed, but is a bit of an outsider in the sense that he hasn’t been a public policymaker for over a decade. Still, the Stanford and Harvard Law School graduate was a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors during the Great Recession and has long been a prominent figure in finance and economics. …
Law enforcement shouldn't be political.
President Donald Trump has pummeled Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for years over interest rate policy. But in just mere months, Powell’s term will be up. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh has been nominated by Trump to succeed Powell as the central bank’s top official. Here is what to expect.
Powell, 73, is set to depart as Fed chairman in May, though he has the option to remain on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors until Jan. 31, 2028. Such a move would no doubt anger Trump, who chose Powell as Fed chairman during his first White House term.
Trump announced last month that he had chosen Warsh, 55, to be the next Fed chairman over National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. The pick came as a surprise to some, given that Hassett was seen as the front-runner for the job for some time.
The backdrop
Trump has been hounding Powell and the Fed to cut interest rates more aggressively since he entered his second term. Trump’s push for lower interest rates was undoubtedly a top agenda item in interviews that the president conducted for the role.
Kevin Warsh. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But the pick also comes at a time when Fed independence is being closely scrutinized.
POWELL DEFENDS FED INDEPENDENCE IN FIRST QUESTIONS ABOUT DOJ INQUIRY
In January, Powell announced that the Justice Department was investigating him, and that the central bank recently received grand jury subpoenas related to testimony he gave to the Senate last year about renovation cost overruns at the Fed headquarters building in Washington.
Powell tied the blame squarely to Trump’s crusade for lower rates and said the inquiry was simply a pretext to pressure him on monetary policy. The extraordinary accusation sparked some concern even from some congressional Republicans.
Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, threatened to block any of Trump’s Fed nominees until the legal matter concludes. Tillis reiterated that the threat still holds after Warsh’s nomination, but called Warsh a “qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy.”
Who is Warsh?
Warsh has experience at the Fed, but is a bit of an outsider in the sense that he hasn’t been a public policymaker for over a decade. Still, the Stanford and Harvard Law School graduate was a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors during the Great Recession and has long been a prominent figure in finance and economics. …
Warshach test: Trump’s Fed chairman pick keeps monetary analysts guessing
Law enforcement shouldn't be political.
President Donald Trump has pummeled Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for years over interest rate policy. But in just mere months, Powell’s term will be up. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh has been nominated by Trump to succeed Powell as the central bank’s top official. Here is what to expect.
Powell, 73, is set to depart as Fed chairman in May, though he has the option to remain on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors until Jan. 31, 2028. Such a move would no doubt anger Trump, who chose Powell as Fed chairman during his first White House term.
Trump announced last month that he had chosen Warsh, 55, to be the next Fed chairman over National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. The pick came as a surprise to some, given that Hassett was seen as the front-runner for the job for some time.
The backdrop
Trump has been hounding Powell and the Fed to cut interest rates more aggressively since he entered his second term. Trump’s push for lower interest rates was undoubtedly a top agenda item in interviews that the president conducted for the role.
Kevin Warsh. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But the pick also comes at a time when Fed independence is being closely scrutinized.
POWELL DEFENDS FED INDEPENDENCE IN FIRST QUESTIONS ABOUT DOJ INQUIRY
In January, Powell announced that the Justice Department was investigating him, and that the central bank recently received grand jury subpoenas related to testimony he gave to the Senate last year about renovation cost overruns at the Fed headquarters building in Washington.
Powell tied the blame squarely to Trump’s crusade for lower rates and said the inquiry was simply a pretext to pressure him on monetary policy. The extraordinary accusation sparked some concern even from some congressional Republicans.
Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, threatened to block any of Trump’s Fed nominees until the legal matter concludes. Tillis reiterated that the threat still holds after Warsh’s nomination, but called Warsh a “qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy.”
Who is Warsh?
Warsh has experience at the Fed, but is a bit of an outsider in the sense that he hasn’t been a public policymaker for over a decade. Still, the Stanford and Harvard Law School graduate was a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors during the Great Recession and has long been a prominent figure in finance and economics. …
