The U.S. Senate has confirmed Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, bringing new leadership to the world's most powerful central bank at a fraught moment for the global economy.

Kevin Warsh won Senate confirmation to the Fed board, clearing a key step toward replacing Jerome Powell as Fed chair.

The upper chamber voted to approve Warsh's nomination by a 51-45 vote, on a mostly party-line basis.