Kevin Warsh is now the 17th Chair of the Federal Reserve. And the president who appointed him wants you to know he’s totally going to leave the guy alone.
During a White House swearing-in ceremony on May 22, President Trump offered Warsh a piece of advice that read more like a public performance than a private conversation. He told the new Fed chair to “just do your own thing” and, in a moment of theatrical restraint, added: “Don’t look at me. Don’t look at anybody.”
It was the first time a Federal Reserve chair has taken the oath of office at the White House since Alan Greenspan did so in 1987. The symbolism was hard to miss, and the irony was even harder.
A carefully staged independence
Here’s the thing about telling someone to be independent during a ceremony you personally orchestrated at your residence: it kind of undermines the message. But the markets didn’t seem to mind.
