The U.S. Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh on Wednesday to lead the Federal Reserve, the world’s most powerful bank, during tense times for the global economy.
The upper chamber voted 54-45 to approve Mr. Warsh’s nomination. Only one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, crossed the aisle to support President Trump’s nominee.
Ahead of the vote, Democrats bashed Mr. Warsh as a “sock puppet” who will slash interest rates and make decisions to please Mr. Trump.
“Republicans will come to regret their decision to aid and abet President Trump’s Fed takeover by installing Mr. Warsh as chair. I urge a no vote,” said Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Banking Committee.
Republicans touted Mr. Warsh’s background, including a previous term on the Fed’s board and his work with President George W. Bush’s economic office. They said fears that he’d undermine Fed independence were just Democratic political games.
“It doesn’t seem to matter who President Trump nominates, Democrats blindly oppose them,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican. “Democrats are not interested in a person’s qualifications; all they care about is opposing President Trump.”
The confirmation followed an identical Senate vote Tuesday to make Mr. Warsh a member of the Fed’s board, with Mr. Fetterman also supplying the only Democratic vote.
Mr. Warsh will take over the Fed for Jerome Powell, whose eight-year tenure leading the central bank will officially end on Friday. Mr. Powell’s term on the board doesn’t end until 2028, and he plans to stay on the board until a probe into a renovation project at the Fed’s headquarters is completed.
That investigation had thrown Mr. Warsh’s confirmation into doubt in recent months. Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, said he would block the nomination while the Justice Department investigated Mr. Powell for alleged wrongdoing related to the renovations. The Justice Department dropped the probe last month and was taken over by the Federal Reserve’s Inspector General.
Renovation costs have risen from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion in recent years. Mr. Trump blamed the cost overruns on mismanagement and suggested that Mr. Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the construction.
The Fed has attributed the higher cost to unexpected developments such as discovering more lead and asbestos than initially thought and inflation, which has made construction costs more expensive.
Mr. Warsh takes over the Fed at a challenging time for the central bank.
The Iran war and Mr. Trump’s tariffs have pushed inflation upward. On Wednesday, the Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 3.8% from April 2025, the largest jump in three years.
At the same time, payroll growth has slowed as real average wages fell 0.5% from March to April, meaning most workers effectively took a pay cut even as prices rose. Labor remained steady.
Inflation has topped the Fed’s 2% target for the past five years and is now rising faster as the Iran war sends gas prices soaring. The Fed has responded by keeping interest rates steady this year and implementing only three small cuts in 2025.
Mr. Trump has called for a massive rate cut, and there appears to be some support among the Fed’s board of governors. At his confirmation hearing last month, Mr. Warsh denied that Mr. Trump had pressed him to slash rates.
“The president never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, period. Nor would I ever agree to do so if he had,” Mr. Warsh said. “I will be an independent actor if confirmed as chair of the Federal Reserve.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.