Senate Confirms Kevin Warsh to Fed Board as Trump Pushes for Chair

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors on Tuesday. The 51-45 vote marks a key step in President Trump's effort to install Warsh as the central bank's leader after months of uncertainty tied to a criminal probe of outgoing chair Jerome Powell.

Senators approved Warsh for a 14-year term as one of the Fed's seven governors. A separate vote is needed to confirm him as chair, replacing Powell whose four-year term ends Friday. That vote could come later this week.

Warsh takes the seat held by Stephen Miran, a Trump adviser confirmed to the Fed last September after an early resignation created a vacancy. Miran's term ended in January, but he stayed on until a successor arrived. Miran had chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisers and took a leave for the short Fed stint.

Warsh's term runs until 2040.

A Stanford University and Harvard Law School graduate, Warsh returns to the Fed after serving as a governor from 2006 to 2011, a period that included the global financial crisis. He later worked as a Hoover Institution fellow and adviser to investor Stanley Druckenmiller. Warsh's net worth tops $100 million. He is married to Jane Lauder, granddaughter of cosmetics magnate Estée Lauder.

Warsh has criticized the Fed's balance sheet size, bank regulation approach, data use and public communication. Over the past year, he has shown openness to interest rate cuts, though he was known as an inflation hawk during his earlier tenure.

Trump has pressed for lower rates, calling Powell a "moron" and "stubborn mule" for resisting deep cuts. The Fed weighs growth gains from lower rates against inflation risks.

Miran dissented from every Federal Open Market Committee rate decision since joining last fall. He sought cuts when the 12-member panel held rates steady in three meetings this year, and pushed for bigger reductions in the final three 2025 meetings.

In confirmation hearings, Warsh pledged to protect the Fed's independent rate-setting power. "Mr. Trump never asked me to predetermine, fix or decide on any interest rate decision, nor would I ever do so," he said. "I will be an independent actor if confirmed as chair of the Federal Reserve," he added last month.

Warsh's confirmation stalled earlier this year when Powell disclosed subpoenas in a criminal probe over his Senate testimony on a multibillion-dollar headquarters renovation. Powell called it intimidation; prosecutors denied that. A judge quashed the subpoenas, ruling they aimed to "harass" Powell into cutting rates or resigning.

Some Senate Republicans balked. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina blocked Fed nominees in the Senate Banking Committee until the probe ended.

Tillis dropped his hold after U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro announced last month her office would close the investigation. The Fed's inspector general will review it, and Pirro said she would reopen a criminal probe if facts justify.

Warsh joins a seven-person board with two Trump first-term nominees, three Biden picks and Powell for now. Courts have blocked Trump's bid to fire one Biden nominee.

Powell plans to stay as a regular board member until the investigation is "well and truly over," the first outgoing chair in more than 75 years to linger after his term. His board term ends in January 2028. He promised a "low profile."