Trump appoints Kevin Warsh as new Fed chairman. Powell era ends
Warsh's appointment could bring the Fed closer to White House policy and reduce its independence
President Donald Trump announced that he will nominate former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chairman. Friday's choice is likely to lead to drastic changes at the powerful agency, which could bring it closer to the White House and reduce its long independence from day-to-day politics. Warsh will replace Jerome Powell when his term expires in May.
Trump chose Powell to lead the Fed in 2017, but recently attacked him for not cutting interest rates fast enough. Warsh's nomination requires Senate confirmation. Warsh was a Fed board member from 2006 to 2011. He is a researcher at the right-leaning Hoover Institution and a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Dollar slightly strengthened after the announcement of Warsh's nomination as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell (targeted for months by Trump's attacks and insults), whose term expires in spring. The euro traded slightly lower at $1.1948 in the early afternoon.
Although close to the Republican milieu and to Trump, Warsh is not considered a 'dove' on the monetary line, but rather an advocate of a policy that tends to be strict, not necessarily compatible with the US president's interest rate cut craze.
