WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is nominating Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, to be the next US central bank chief.
The decision caps a closely watched search for a successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom the president has repeatedly lambasted for not cutting interest rates more swiftly.
“I have known Kevin for a long period of time and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best”, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting’, and he will never let you down”, Trump added.
Warsh, 55, was the youngest person to serve as a Fed governor, a role he held from 2006 to 2011.
Trump considered Warsh for the top Fed job too during his first presidency, but eventually chose Powell — a decision he quickly soured on.
Powell’s term at the helm ends in May, although it remains unclear if he will also step down from the Fed’s powerful board of governors.
Gold and silver prices dropped on Friday with investors soothed by Trump’s choice of Warsh, while Wall Street dipped.
Warsh will need to be confirmed by the US Senate, fielding questions from lawmakers amidst growing concerns about threats to the Fed’s insulation from politics.
Trump’s recent attempt to oust another Fed Governor, Lisa Cook and his administration’s investigation into Powell over renovation costs at the bank, have sparked worries about Fed independence.
