The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the new chairman of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday (local time). He will lead the central bank as President Donald Trump pushes for lower interest rates, even as fresh inflation data complicates the case for rate cuts.
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In what is being described as the most divisive vote ever for a Federal Reserve chairman, Warsh, 56, was confirmed to succeed Jerome Powell, who has held the top job since 2018 and whose term expires on Friday.
The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Warsh’s appointment, ending a months-long saga that began in the summer of 2025 and included an extensive search for Powell’s successor. The vote was mostly along party lines, with only Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman switching to support Warsh, who will become the 11th chairman of the Federal Reserve in the modern banking era.
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This will be Warsh’s second stint at the central bank. He was previously sworn in as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 24, 2006, and left the Board in March 2011.
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Kevin Warsh was born in Albany, New York. He studied public policy at Stanford University with a concentration in economics and statistics, receiving his bachelor’s degree with honors in 1992. He later attended Harvard Law School, where he concentrated on the intersection of law, economics, and regulatory policy, receiving his law degree in 1995. He also completed courses in market economics and debt capital markets at Harvard Sloan Business School and MIT’s.
After graduating from law school, Warsh joined Morgan Stanley & Co. in 1995. in New York, where he worked in the mergers and acquisitions division. During his time there, he advised companies across sectors including manufacturing, basic materials, professional services and technology, and was involved in structuring capital markets deals as well as arranging equity and fixed-income financings. He retired from Morgan Stanley in 2002 as vice president and managing director.
He then joined the administration of former US President George W. Bush, where he served as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and as Executive Secretary of the National Economic Council. In these roles, he advised senior officials on economic issues, including capital markets, banking, securities and insurance, and was a member of the President’s Task Force on Financial Markets.
In 2006, Bush nominated Warsh to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He served a five-year term, representing the board at the G20 and working with emerging and advanced economies in Asia. He also oversaw administrative responsibilities on the board, including operations, personnel and financial management. During this period, he made several notable speeches about the 2007–09 financial crisis, including “The End of History?”, “The Federal Funds Rate in Extraordinary Times” and “Rejecting the Requiem”.
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Warsh is currently a distinguished visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and a lecturer at the Graduate School of Business. He is also a consultant to several companies and serves on the board of United Parcel Service.
Warsh to be the richest Fed chairman ever
According to a CNBC report, Warsh will be the richest Fed chairman ever with holdings worth more than $100 million. As Fed chairman, he will have to divest many of his investments under a strict new policy introduced after revelations of questionable business practices among senior officials.
His financial disclosure revealed that Warsh and his wife, Jane Lauder, have approximately $192 million in assets, with the possibility that the total may be even higher. The assets held in his name alone are estimated to be between about $135 million and $226 million.
Nominees are required to report their assets to the Senate in wide value ranges. Warsh’s records include two funds worth more than $50 million, though no upper limit is set. Lauder also owns several funds listed at more than $1 million, again with no upper cap.
Warsh married Lauder in 2002. She serves on the board of Estée Lauder, the cosmetics company founded by her grandmother. According to Forbes, her net worth is estimated at $1.9 billion.
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The filings revealed that Warsh is significantly wealthier than his predecessor Powell, who at the time of his confirmation in 2018 was considered the richest Fed chief in history. According to Powell’s most recent filing for 2025, his net worth is between $19 million and $75 million.
