US, Senate confirms Warsh as new Fed Chairman: term begins Friday

The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's chosen candidate, to lead the Federal Reserve. Warsh was confirmed in a vote that largely followed party lines.

His nomination had been in doubt in recent months after Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he would block it while the Justice Department investigated Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Powell investigation was dropped in April, paving the way for Warsh's confirmation by the Senate.
Warsh, 56, a former senior Fed official, will assume the chairmanship at an unusually difficult time for the independent agency.

With Warsh's confirmation as Fed chair, the Senate gave an undoubted victory to President Donald Trump, who had pushed for his nomination after the furious clashes over the demand for a drastic rate cut with outgoing chairman Jerome Powell, whose term expires on 15 May, although he announced that he will remain on the US central bank's board for the time being.

The vote ended with 54 votes in favour and 45 against: Democratic Senator John Fetterman once again joined all Republicans in supporting Warsh, whose four-year term at the helm of the Fed will begin on Friday.