{"id":599577,"date":"2026-05-23T09:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T09:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/599577\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T09:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T09:49:14","slug":"kevin-warsh-sworn-in-as-fed-chair-at-pivotal-moment-for-us-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/599577\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Warsh sworn in as Fed chair at pivotal moment for US economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/p>\n

Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Federal Reserve chair on Friday at a challenging time for the economy.
\n The new Fed leader faces surging inflation, rising mortgage rates and historic lows in consumer sentiment.
\n Warsh’s first policy meeting in June will test his independence amid Trump’s demands for rate cuts.<\/p>\n

\n AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.<\/p>\n

\n Kevin Warsh was sworn in Friday at the White House as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, succeeding Jerome Powell in one of the world\u2019s most powerful economic positions.\n <\/p>\n

\n Warsh, 56, steps into the four-year role at a time of mounting uncertainty over inflation, geopolitical conflicts and volatile financial markets, alongside rising political pressure on the central bank\u2019s independence<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI expect he will go down as one of the truly great chairmen of the Federal Reserve that we\u2019ve ever had, I really believe that,\u201d President Donald Trump said during remarks from the East Room, marking his first public appearance with Warsh since he nominated him earlier this year. \u201cHe\u2019s got abilities that very few people have, covers a lot of territory, and he\u2019s respected by everybody.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Warsh has not been shy about the significant changes he envisions for the Fed, which he emphasized in brief remarks after being sworn in.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI will lead a reform-oriented Federal Reserve, learning from past successes and mistakes, both escaping static frameworks and models and upholding clear standards of integrity and performance,\u201d Warsh said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Hand-picked by Trump in January when expectations pointed to stabilizing growth and cooler inflation, Warsh now takes the reins of an economy that is shifting under the weight of the US-Israeli war with Iran. The oil shock has sharply pushed up gasoline prices, mortgage rates have climbed <\/a>to their highest level in nine months and overall inflation has surged<\/a> to the highest level in three years.\n <\/p>\n

\n The US consumer has remained surprisingly resilient, continuing to spend despite higher prices and insulating the economy from a downturn. But affordability concerns have left many Americans unhappy about the economy, which could lead to major political ramifications<\/a> for the midterm elections. Consumer sentiment is at an all-time low<\/a>: Americans feel worse now than they did during wars, 9\/11, the Great Recession, the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation surge afterward.\n <\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

\n That leaves Warsh facing a sharper balancing act and puts him under immediate pressure to signal how the Fed will respond to the tension in the US economy: Hold rates steady and wait for clarity, or shift toward a more restrictive stance if inflation proves harder to contain.\n <\/p>\n

\n Warsh is widely viewed as being aligned with Trump, who has aggressively demanded rate cuts and even joked that he would sue Warsh if he does not lower borrowing costs. Trump has said rates must be lower to reduce the government\u2019s borrowing costs and to juice economic growth.\n <\/p>\n

\n But Trump said Friday he wants Warsh \u201cto be totally independent.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cDon\u2019t look at me, don\u2019t look at anybody, just do your own thing and do a great job,\u201d Trump added. However, he repeatedly berated Powell for not lowering rates quickly enough, calling him a \u201cnumbskull\u201d and an \u201caverage mentally person\u201d and even threatened to fire him<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n Warsh stressed his own obligation to lead the Fed independently, with the goal of lower inflation and stronger economic growth.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Fed chair alone, however, cannot cut rates. The central bank\u2019s monetary policy arm, the Federal Open Market Committee, sets rates based on current economic conditions and outlook, not the demands of a sitting president.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump said Friday he believes Warsh has \u201cthe temperament and leadership abilities to foster collaboration among the entire board, and I know he will welcome robust debate in his mission to keep prices stable and employment high. Kevin will have the full support of my administration.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n While Fed policymakers in March projected a rate cut later this year, they have shifted their thinking in recent months as they assess the economic impact of higher energy prices and geopolitical instability. The majority of policymakers now favor holding rates steady, with some even floating the possibility of a rate hike.\n <\/p>\n

\n Warsh\u2019s first meeting as Fed chair is set for June 16-17.\n <\/p>\n

\n Warsh has proposed several key changes for the central bank, including limiting Fed officials\u2019 communications with the public regarding where they believe interest rates should be.\n <\/p>\n

\n Warsh has also been a strong proponent of keeping the Fed out of issues that don\u2019t have direct connections to core responsibilities. That\u2019s in line with Trump\u2019s thinking.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe Fed lost its way in recent years,\u201d Trump said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt became distracted by concerns far removed from its core mission and mandate, drifting into matters such as climate policy and DEI initiatives, with the Fed straying from its mandate.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Powell, during his time as chair, was especially judicious when questioned about these topics. \u201cThe Federal Reserve is not and will not be a \u2018climate policymaker,\u2019\u201d Powell said in a statement from 2023. \u201cDecisions about policies to address climate change must be made by the elected branches of government.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But he said the Fed has \u201cnarrow, but important, responsibilities regarding climate-related financial risks.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Federal Reserve chair on Friday at a challenging time for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":599578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-599577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}