Trump expected to back former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as Fed chair: Report

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA)—US President Donald Trump is expected to nominate former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as the new Fed chair, after a long selection process, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Trump said Thursday that he would announce his pick to replace current Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday.

Trump and Warsh met at the White House on Thursday, according to the New York Times, but no decision is definitive until an announcement is made. Later that day, the president informed reporters that he would shortly name a person who was "known to everybody in the financial world."

Trump has stated time and again that he would choose a Fed head who is in favor of lowering interest rates, which are now between 3.5% and 3.75%. Instead, claiming that the US should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world, the president has called for rates to be cut to 1%.

The selection process has been going on for months as the Treasury Secretary provided Trump with lists, which initially included 10 people. Then it was thinned out to a shortlist that included other names such as BlackRock executive Rick Rieder, Fed Governor Christopher Waller, and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.

Warsh has advised Trump on economic strategy while serving on the Board of Governors of the US central bank from 2006 to 2011. He would replace Jerome Powell, whose term as president expires in May, if he is nominated and confirmed. The 55-year-old Warsh would make a comeback when Powell was chosen by the president in 2017 for the top position.

Despite his previous reputation as an inflation hawk, Warsh has recently sided with the president by publicly advocating for lower interest rates.

The Fed earlier this week held rates constant after cutting them three times at the end of 2025.

The US Senate's confirmation process for Trump's nominee might be difficult. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee described Warsh as "a very clear choice that the markets would accept and appreciate," suggesting that a large number of Republican senators will likely find him acceptable.

However, Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina who serves on the Banking Committee, has pledged to obstruct any of Trump's Fed nominations until the US Justice Department completes an inquiry into the central bank's remodeling of its Washington headquarters.

Concerns about risks to the Fed's independence have increased as a result of that probe, which includes a focus on Powell's testimony to Congress.

“The Fed noms are not going to change until the investigation and potential indictment of Chair Powell is completed,” Tillis told reporters at the US Capitol Thursday. “DOJ’s got to decide when I lift those holds. It gets lifted the day that case is adjudicated or withdrawn.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune responded "probably not" when asked on Thursday night if a Fed chair nominee could be confirmed without Tillis.