President Donald Trump is all set to nominate Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding the independent-minded Jerome Powell.
Warsh, 55, is a financier and bank executive who previously served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He is married to the American billionaire heiress and businesswoman Jane Lauder, whose grandparents founded the Estée Lauder cosmetics company. They met at Stanford University.
Trump said at the Melania screening on Thursday he would announce his new chair appointee on Friday morning, but stopped short of naming them.
“A lot of people think that this is somebody that could have been there a few years ago,” the president said. “It’s going to be somebody that is very respected, somebody that’s known to everybody in the financial world.”
Trump has repeatedly clashed with Powell, the current chair, and has threatened to fire him. Powell’s term as Fed chair ends in May.
Warsh interviewed for the job in 2017, before Trump selected Powell.
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump has long expressed remorse over his decision. “Kevin, I could have used you a little bit here. Why weren’t you more forceful when you wanted that job?” Trump in a 2020 ceremony where Warsh was in the audience. “I would have been very happy with you.”
The Federal Reserve Board told the Daily Beast on Thursday they “had nothing to share.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
BlackRock money manager Rick Reider was also being considered for the role, but The New York Post reported he was told on Thursday he would not get the position.
National Economic Council chair Kevin Hassett had also been in the mix to replace Powell.
CNN reported that Warsh met with Trump for a formal interview in December, which impressed the president’s advisers. Trump also noted that Warsh “looked the part.”
Warsh served as a Fed governor for five years after being nominated by President George W. Bush. He was also in line to possibly take the Treasury secretary role that eventually went to Scott Bessent.
The Fed said Wednesday it had voted to hold its rates steady, the first time since July that rates have not been cut, as Powell warned that it would be difficult for the central bank to regain its credibility if it lost its independence.
In reaction, Trump called Powell a “moron” in a Truth Social tirade.
Adopting his usual derogatory nickname “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell”, Trump was incensed that the Fed chair had “refused” to cut interest rates, adding “he has absolutely no reason to keep them so high.”
“He is hurting our Country, and its National Security,” Trump wrote. “We should have a substantially lower rate now that even this moron admits inflation is no longer a problem or threat. He is costing America Hundreds of Billions of Dollar a year in totally unnecessary and uncalled for INTEREST EXPENSE.”
Powell defied Trump earlier this month when he issued a video message attacking a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice into his costly renovation of the Central Bank’s headquarters.
Trump has repeatedly claimed the renovations have gone wildly over budget.
“I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law,” Powell said. “But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”
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