Trump Picks Kevin Warsh to Succeed Powell as Fed Chair, Sparking Senate Scrutiny

US President Donald Trump has nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the US central bank, setting up a likely tough Senate confirmation process.

The announcement was made on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, confirming earlier reports that Warsh, 55, a former Fed official and Morgan Stanley banker, was Trump’s top choice. Trump praised Warsh, saying he believes he could become “one of the GREAT Fed chairmen, maybe the best.”

Prediction markets and analysts had increasingly expected Warsh’s nomination, with odds rising sharply ahead of the announcement. Warsh served on the Federal Reserve Board from 2006 to 2011 and has since often criticized ultra‑loose monetary policies. He has called for a “regime change” at the Fed and questioned its balance sheet expansion after the 2008 financial crisis.

Unlike Powell, Warsh has expressed a more positive view of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, arguing in a July Hoover Institution discussion that digital assets would not hurt the Fed’s ability to manage the economy and could instead provide market discipline.

Warsh’s Fed Pick Could Shift Policy

Warsh’s nomination comes at a time of market uncertainty, with traders adjusting risk assets, including Bitcoin, around the chance of a more hawkish Fed chair and the risk of a partial US government shutdown.

Gold and silver prices also dropped, though analyst Peter Schiff said the move was not related to Warsh’s nomination. Schiff noted that even the most hawkish Fed members are still relatively “dovish” and that Trump would not have picked him if he thought Warsh would be overly aggressive.

Warsh’s confirmation requires Senate approval, and lawmakers are expected to examine his past calls for tighter monetary policy and his criticism of Powell’s approach to regulation and crisis response. His appointment could influence interest rates, inflation, financial stability, and the treatment of cryptocurrencies in the United States. The nomination is seen as a key moment that could shift the Fed’s policy direction under Warsh’s leadership.