Who is Kevin Warsh and why Trump wants him to run the Fed

Kevin Warsh Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Kevin Warsh has moved to the top of his list to become the next chair of the US Federal Reserve, though other candidates remain in contention, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“Yes, I think he is,” Trump told the newspaper when asked whether Warsh was now his leading choice, the Journal reported, citing an interview conducted after Warsh met the president on Wednesday.

The comments mark a shift in a closely watched succession race that will determine the direction of US monetary policy when Jerome Powell’s term ends in May.

Trump said National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, who had recently emerged as the market favourite following a Bloomberg News report, remains under consideration.

“I think you have Kevin and Kevin. They’re both, I think the two Kevins are great,” Trump told the Journal, adding that “a couple of other people” were also strong candidates.

Hassett has publicly said he would serve only if asked. Prediction markets reacted swiftly to the Journal report, trimming Hassett’s implied odds while lifting Warsh’s chances.

In the same interview, Trump revived his long-held view that the Fed chair should consult the president on interest rate decisions — a position that would mark a departure from modern norms of central bank independence.

“Typically, that’s not done anymore. It used to be done routinely. It should be done,” Trump said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I’m a smart voice and should be listened to.”

The remarks underscore the stakes of the appointment: not just who leads the Fed, but how insulated monetary policy remains from political pressure.

Trump has clashed with Powell almost continuously since nominating him as Fed chair in 2017, repeatedly criticising the central bank for not cutting rates fast enough.

The Fed most recently reduced its benchmark federal funds rate this week to a 3.5%–3.75% range, after cumulative cuts of three-quarters of a percentage point since September. Trump has said rates should be lower still.

He told the Journal that Warsh largely agrees with his views on monetary policy. “He thinks you have to lower interest rates,” Trump said. “And so does everybody else that I’ve talked to.”

In addition to Warsh and Hassett, other names previously considered include current Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, as well as BlackRock fixed-income chief Rick Rieder.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has led the search process but has said repeatedly that he is not interested in the job, despite Trump expressing a preference for him.

Trump also signalled caution, citing regret over Powell’s original appointment. “I want to be careful because I was given a bad recommendation,” he told the Journal, again blaming former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.