Kevin Warsh, left, takes the oath of office from U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, right, as Warsh’s wife Jane Lauder looks on during his swearing-in ceremony as the recent Chair of the Federal Reserve in the East Room of the White House on May 22, 2026 in Washington, DC (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – Kevin Warsh assumed his recent role as chairman of the Federal Reserve on Friday after a swearing-in ceremony in the East Room of the White House where U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took the oath of office.
President Donald Trump told a crowd of top former and current lawmakers and officials that he wanted Florida’s Warsh 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 anyone, just do your own thing and do a great job,” Trump said.
Warsh promised to be a “reform-minded” leader in brief remarks after being sworn in by Thomas as the 17th Fed chair. Warsh’s wife, Jane Lauder, held a Bible for him.
“Our mission at the Fed is to promote price stability and maximum employment. If we pursue these goals with wisdom and clarity, independence and determination, inflation can be lower, growth can be stronger, real wages can be higher, and America can be wealthier, not less important, and America’s place in the world will be more secure,” said Warsh, who previously served as governor of the Fed’s board during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The ceremony was also attended by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, with whom Warsh served in the White House during President George W. Bush’s term.
Trump attacks Powell
Warsh’s swearing-in ceremony caps Trump’s long campaign of public attacks on former Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom the president appointed during his first term in 2018.
Trump has increasingly threatened over the past year to fire and replace Powell if he doesn’t cut interest rates.
With the November midterm elections less than six months away, Trump faces increasing economic headwinds inflation reached its highest level since 2023 last month, and the president’s approval ratings on the cost of living continue to decline.
Trump’s feud with Powell came to a head in January when the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Powell and the central bank over the multibillion-dollar cost of renovating the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, DC. Following his subpoena, Powell made a uncommon public statement Video statement He dismissed the investigation as a maneuver to weaken the Fed’s independence.
Trump’s investigation into Powell hurt his nomination of Warsh, even within his own party. Outgoing U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., withheld his tie-breaking committee vote to advance Warsh’s Senate nomination until the Justice Department announced it in tardy April fall the probe.
A little more than a month before the government closed the case, a federal judge had blocked the Justice Department’s criminal subpoenas, citing “ample evidence that the primary purpose of the subpoenas (if not the sole purpose) is to harass and pressure Powell to either defer to the president or resign and make way for a Fed chair.”
Trump is also embroiled in litigation after attempting to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The Supreme Court is examination whether Trump exceeded his authority as president when he fired her for no reason.
“sock puppet”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, issued a scathing statement Friday morning questioning Warsh’s transparency about his investments during the nomination process and claiming he will not remain independent of the president.
“Kevin Warsh begins his term with his credibility in tatters. After proving himself to be Donald Trump’s puppet, I fear that Mr. Warsh will put the president’s political interests ahead of the economic well-being of American families,” said Warren, D-Mass.
Powell will remain a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors.
