Kevin Warsh has a message for anyone wondering where the Federal Reserve stands on inflation: the 2% target is, in his words, “unambiguous.”
The 17th Chair of the Federal Reserve, sworn in just weeks ago on May 22, kept interest rates unchanged at his first FOMC meeting on June 17. But the real signal was in what he promised next: a potential rate hike before the year is out, aimed squarely at inflation that has climbed to 4.1% as of May 2026, the highest reading in three years.
A hawkish debut for Trump’s Fed pick
Warsh’s path to the Fed’s top job was relatively swift. President Trump nominated him on March 4, 2026, and the Senate confirmed him in time for a late-May swearing in. During his confirmation hearings, inflation was sitting at 3.3%. By the time he actually took the chair, that number had jumped nearly a full percentage point.
Warsh used his first meeting to emphasize what he called a “strong and unified commitment” to price stability. He held rates steady for now, with the message to markets that if inflation doesn’t cool on its own, the Fed will cool it manually.
