US Senate confirms Trump pick Kevin Warsh to Federal Reserve Board

The decision clears the way for Warsh to take over the role of Fed chair from Jerome Powell later this week

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed Kevin Warsh as a governor on the board of the Federal Reserve, clearing the way for him to take the reins of the central bank later this week as the world’s largest economy faces inflation at a three-year-high.

The Senate voted 51-45 to confirm Warsh’s appointment to the board for a 14-year term, with the results largely along party lines.

The Senate will hold a separate vote to confirm Warsh as the central bank’s chair, taking over from incumbent Jerome Powell, whose term finishes at the end of this week.

US President Donald Trump has frequently insulted and criticised Powell, demanding the central bank lower interest rates faster, despite significant economic headwinds.

US consumer inflation came in at its highest year-on-year level since 2023 on Tuesday, registering at 3.8 per cent in April, with significant increases in both energy and food prices.

Warsh has backed lower interest rates, despite price increases having outpaced the Fed’s long-term 2 per cent target for years. The US labour market has also shown signs of weakness, with unemployment steady but job growth see-sawing between contraction and expansion for months.