Trump Tells New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to Stay "Totally Independent" at White House Swearing-In
Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Federal Reserve chair on May 22, 2026, in a White House ceremony—a setting not used for a Fed chief’s oath since Alan Greenspan in 1987. President Trump, standing alongside Warsh, urged him to be "totally independent" and said he should not look to the president when making decisions. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath.
The Senate confirmed Warsh on May 13, just nine days earlier, by a 55–45 vote that largely tracked party lines. He replaces Jerome Powell, whose term ended the prior week after a tenure that featured repeated public clashes with Trump over interest-rate policy.
Warsh returns to the central bank with prior experience: he served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, spanning the 2008 financial crisis and its turbulent aftermath. During that period, he developed a reputation for challenging the Fed’s more aggressive interventionist measures, at times in public.
In confirmation hearings, Warsh emphasized two core messages: preserving central-bank independence and relying on data-driven decision-making. He rejected suggestions that he had made any prior commitments on interest rates. Warsh previously worked at Morgan Stanley and later held a fellowship at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, where he has written and spoken extensively on monetary policy frameworks.
The new chair inherits an immediate test. Inflation stood at 3.8% in April, well above the Fed’s long-running 2% target. Moving too slowly on tightening risks unanchoring inflation expectations; moving too aggressively risks cooling growth and compressing corporate margins.
Crypto markets are watching closely. Bitcoin and other digital assets have become increasingly sensitive to rate expectations in recent years. A more hawkish path—higher rates for longer—would likely weigh on Bitcoin and altcoins as investors rotate toward yield-bearing safe assets such as Treasuries. A more patient stance that holds rates steady while awaiting additional data could help sustain the risk appetite that has supported crypto.
The 55–45 confirmation margin also underscores the political backdrop. Without broad bipartisan support, Warsh could face significant headwinds if he pursues controversial policy moves.
