Trump says Kevin Warsh will be ‘totally independent’ as he’s sworn in as Fed chair

WASHINGTON —  Kevin Warsh assumed his new role as chair of the Federal Reserve Friday after a swearing-in ceremony in the White House East Room, where U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the oath of office.

President Donald Trump said before a crowd of high-profile former and current lawmakers and officials that he wants Warsh, of Florida, to be “totally independent.”

“I want him to be independent and just do a great job. Don't look at me, don't look at anybody, just do your own thing and do a great job,” Trump said.

Warsh vowed to be a “reform-oriented” leader in brief remarks after he was sworn in as the 17th Fed chair by Thomas. Warsh’s wife, Jane Lauder, held a Bible for him.

“Our mandate at the Fed is to promote price stability and maximum employment. When we pursue those aims with wisdom and clarity, independence and resolve, inflation can be lower, growth stronger, real take-home pay higher, and America can be more prosperous, and no less important, America's place in the world more secure,” said Warsh, who previously served as a Fed board governor during the 2008 global financial crisis.

Also at the ceremony was Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whom Warsh worked with at the White House during President George W. Bush’s administration. 

Trump attacks on Powell

Warsh’s swearing-in ceremony caps Trump’s long campaign of public attacks on former Fed Chair Jerome Powell, appointed by the president during his first term in 2018. 

Trump ramped up threats over the past year to fire and replace Powell if he did not lower interest rates.

With the November midterms less than six months away, Trump is increasingly facing economic headwinds as inflation hit its highest mark last month since 2023, and the president’s approval ratings on the cost of living continue to sag.

Trump’s feud with Powell reached a boiling point in January when the Department of Justice opened a criminal probe into Powell and the central bank over the multibillion-dollar cost to renovate the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. After being subpoenaed, Powell issued a rare public video statement dismissing the investigation as a maneuver to weaken the Fed’s independence.

Trump’s investigation into Powell marred his nomination of Warsh, even within his own party. The retiring U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., withheld his key committee vote to advance Warsh’s nomination to the Senate until the Department of Justice announced in late April it would drop the probe. 

Just over a month prior to the administration nixing the case, a federal judge had blocked the DOJ’s criminal subpoenas, citing “abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair.”

Trump is also tangled in litigation after attempting to fire Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook. The Supreme Court is reviewing whether Trump overstepped his presidential authority when he fired her without cause.

‘Sock puppet’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, issued a scathing statement Friday morning questioning Warsh’s transparency about his investments during the nomination process, and alleging he will not remain independent from the president.

“Kevin Warsh starts his tenure with his credibility in tatters. Having proven himself to be Donald Trump’s sock puppet, I worry Mr. Warsh will prioritize the President’s political interests over the economic well-being of American families,” said Warren, D-Mass.

Powell will stay on as a member of the Fed’s board of governors.