Trump's Fed shake-up looms as Hassett, Warsh emerge as leading contenders
Navellier & Associates founder and CIO Louis Navellier discusses Paramount's bid for Warner Bros. Discovery and evaluates potential Federal Reserve Chair nominees on 'Mornings with Maria.'
President Donald Trump said on Friday that he plans to nominate Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell when his term expires in May.
The move comes at a turbulent moment for the Federal Reserve, as the Justice Department conducts a criminal probe into Powell, the Supreme Court weighs limits on the Fed’s independence and the cost of living tests Trump's economic agenda.
"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 Truth Social. "On top of everything else, he is 'central casting,' and he will never let you down. Congratulations Kevin!"
If confirmed by the Senate, Warsh would assume one of the most powerful positions in U.S. economic policymaking, with direct influence over interest rate decisions and the central bank’s battle against inflation.
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Kevin Warsh, former governor of the Federal Reserve, will return to lead the central bank. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Federal Reserve, which sets borrowing costs and shapes inflation, wields enormous influence over Americans’ day-to-day affordability.
Warsh’s potential ascension to the top spot at the Fed comes as Trump has often made Powell a lightning rod for economic criticism, with tensions between the two deteriorating over interest rate decisions and broader monetary policy.
Trump has called on the Fed to cut rates, which he says could save the nation "hundreds of billions of dollars."
Powell held the benchmark rate at 4.25% to 4.5% as the Fed took a wait-and-see approach to assess the impact of the president's sweeping tariffs. While the central bank has since lowered rates, Trump’s attacks on Powell, whom he nominated in 2017, have increasingly taken on a personal tone, including the use of mocking nicknames.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on Dec. 10, 2025, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Powell, widely viewed as one of the most crisis-tested Federal Reserve chairs in modern U.S. history, built his career as a lawyer and investment banker in New York before entering public service in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. He joined the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors in 2012 and was tapped to lead the central bank in 2017.
Warsh has remained a consistent critic of Fed leadership, sharpening his attacks as he emerged as a contender to replace Powell. Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley banker, became the youngest person to serve on the Fed board in 2006.
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Kevin Warsh, former governor of the Federal Reserve, during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2025. (Tierney Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Though he stepped down in 2011, he was widely recognized as the Fed’s key liaison to Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis and also served as an economic advisor to then-President George W. Bush.
