As President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh is stepping back into the spotlight – and in the hot seat – as he faces lawmakers Tuesday in a high-stakes confirmation hearing that could shape the future of U.S. monetary policy.
Trump announced Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell at the Fed in January, ending months of speculation over who he’d pick to head the world’s most powerful central bank. Powell is set to complete his term as chairman in May.
“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!”
Here’s what to know about Warsh and his path to the Fed’s top job:
Warsh, born in 1970, earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Stanford University and later earned a law degree from Harvard University. Like Powell, Warsh does not have a formal economics degree (Powell earned a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University and a law degree from Georgetown).
Warsh spent time working in the private sector at Morgan Stanley before joining President George W. Bush’s administration in 2002, burnishing his credentials in Republican policy circles until Bush nominated him to the Fed’s Board of Governors in 2006. At age 35, he became the youngest Fed governor in history.
Since leaving the Fed in 2011, Warsh has served as a Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. He also serves on the board of UPS and is a trustee of the Group of Thirty and the Panel of Economic Advisers of the Congressional Budget Office.
In 2017, he was considered by Trump to replace Janet Yellen as Fed chair. The president instead chose Powell as her successor. Warsh was also in the running to serve as treasury secretary last fall before Trump nominated hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox Business’ Amanda Macias.
Read the full article here