Kevin Warsh is officially the new chair of the Federal Reserve, sworn in on May 22, 2026, at a White House ceremony. President Donald Trump used the occasion to declare that Warsh would restore public confidence in the institution and keep it independent.
The Senate confirmed Warsh on May 13 by a vote of 54-45. Trump had nominated him on January 30, 2026, to succeed Jerome Powell, whose term concluded earlier that month.
A crisis-tested pick with a reform agenda
Warsh is not a newcomer to the Fed. He served on the Board of Governors from February 2006 to March 2011, a period that included the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. He was just 35 when he was appointed, making him the youngest Fed governor at the time.
During those years, he worked closely with then-Chair Ben Bernanke as the central bank scrambled to prevent a complete meltdown of the global financial system.
