Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, has been confirmed to a spot on the central bank’s Board of Governors, teeing up a chairmanship vote this week.
Warsh, 56, was confirmed on Tuesday in a 51-45 vote, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) joining Republicans in voting to give the nominee a 14-year term on the Fed board.
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The Senate must vote separately to confirm him to be chairman of the board. That vote is expected this week.
The effective deadline for the Senate is Friday, when the term of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell expires. Powell has been a frequent rhetorical punching bag for Trump, who has criticized him as moving too slowly to cut interest rates.
This isn’t Warsh’s first time on the Fed board. He previously served on the Fed’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, during the worst of the Great Recession.
Warsh’s nomination process and confirmation hearing received outsize attention, given the pressure Trump put on Powell and the Justice Department’s investigation into Powell over allegations that he misled Congress about building renovations to the Fed’s headquarters.
The investigation into Powell caused Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, to threaten to block Warsh’s nomination as a means of protest. After the DOJ dropped the investigation, Tillis dropped his blockade and said he would vote for Warsh.
During his confirmation hearing, Warsh faced questions about the role of the Fed and his ability to maintain its independence from outside pressure. Warsh told senators on the panel that “monetary policy independence is essential.”
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Warsh also spoke about reform at the central bank. He specifically emphasized during the hearing that the Fed needs to return to its core mandate of price stability and maximum employment.
Warsh has argued that, in recent years, including under Powell, the central bank has stretched the bounds of its remit by pushing politics and entering policy conversations that don’t fit within its mandate.
