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The U.S. Senate has confirmed disastrous Jerome Powell’s replacement as Federal Reserve chairman.
The final vote tally, based on video shared by Florida Voice News' Eric Daugherty, was 54 to 45. Therefore, as there are 53 Republican senators, it appears at least one Independent or Democrat voted for Kevin Warsh. The Senate had already confirmed Warsh's appointment to the Board of Governors, according to Just the News, but the Wednesday vote confirmed his nomination as Fed chairman.
Warsh is set to serve a 14-year term, Newsmax noted, explaining that the financier and former Federal Reserve governor faces a historic crisis at the Fed. While Powell is unusually staying on as a Fed governor after he is no longer chairman, claiming he will fight “political” influence on the Fed, Warsh is looking to make changes.
[Newsmax] Warsh says he plans "regime change" at the Fed, including tightening its coordination with the Treasury Department and the Trump administration on non-monetary policies and setting it on course for a smaller balance sheet, which he argues should allow for a lower policy rate…The Fed chair has one of 12 votes on interest-rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee and is one of 19 voices at the policy-setting table.
Powell's term expires Friday, though — as noted above — he is unfortunately supposed to remain on the Board of Governors until January 2028. Powell was until this month under Justice Department investigation for his boondoggle Fed building renovation project. Fed inspector Michael Horowitz will soon release his report on the building, according to Just the News. President Donald Trump previously said on Kudlow that the renovation should have cost $25 million but turned into a $4 billion money pit. "It's the most expensive construction job ever built anywhere in the world per square foot. It's crazy. They're either corrupt, which — somebody's corrupt, has to be — or grossly incompetent," the president argued. While the Fed technically funds itself, it manages a considerable amount of taxpayer funds, and it has been reporting operating losses of billions of dollars.
Trump and Powell also repeatedly clashed over the latter's stubbornness in refusing to lower interest rates to help boost the U.S. economy. For example, last August, Trump accused Powell, "Could somebody please inform Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell that he is hurting the Housing Industry, very badly? People can’t get a Mortgage because of him. There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut. ‘Too Late’ is a disaster!"
Warsh now has to deal with the mess Powell leaves behind. The Washington Examiner noted:
The problem facing Warsh is that Trump wants lower interest rates, but both the higher inflation environment and Powell's remaining on the board are making that far less likely.
It remains to be seen if Warsh and Trump can restore some sanity to the Federal Reserve. Ahead of the midterms, Warsh could play a crucial role in shaping the economy.
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