Kevin Warsh Takes Over as Fed Chair After Unanimous FOMC Vote

Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Chair of the Federal Reserve after receiving unanimous support from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), taking the helm as inflation remains high and policymakers navigate visible internal differences. The Fed has kept its benchmark rate in a 3.50%–3.75% range through its latest meeting. The White House has increasingly criticized the central bank for what it views as an overly cautious stance. A Confirmation on the Tightest Margin Warsh's Senate confirmation cleared this month by a 54'45 vote, the narrowest margin ever for a Fed chair in U.S. history. President Donald Trump nominated Warsh on March 4, 2026. Warsh's chair term runs through May 2030, while his seat on the Board of Governors extends to January 2040. Warsh previously served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011 under then-Chair Ben Bernanke. During the 2008 financial crisis, he was involved in coordination efforts around the Bear Stearns sale to JPMorgan Chase, the Lehman Brothers process, and the AIG rescue. After leaving the Fed, he spent years as a fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution before returning to private finance. Jerome Powell, who has served as chair since 2018, will remain on the Board of Governors after stepping down from the top job. Policy Signals and Market Focus Warsh has said he will act as a "strictly independent" chair, resisting Trump's repeated calls for lower borrowing costs. He favors a smaller Fed balance sheet and a narrower institutional mandate, and has urged tighter limits on how Fed officials discuss the future rate path in public. Financial disclosures tied to crypto and AI showed Warsh holds personal stakes in the stablecoin project Basis and crypto asset manager Bitwise. He has also argued that Bitcoin (BTC) is too volatile to function as a medium of exchange. With U.S. PPI hitting 6% in April, investors are closely watching the Fed's decision to keep rates on hold. Warsh's first FOMC meeting is expected to be an early test of how insulated the central bank will remain from political pressure.