MW Trump tells Warsh 'to be totally independent' as Fed chair. 'Don't look at me,' president says.
By Victor Reklaitis
Trump and new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh appear together at swearing-in ceremony at White House
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Kevin Warsh in the East Room of the White House as they arrive at Warsh's swearing-in ceremony to be the new chair of the Federal Reserve.
President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to give some breathing room again to new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, as the two appeared together at the White House for his swearing-in ceremony.
"I want him to be totally independent," Trump said during the event, before Warsh was officially sworn in. "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's comment was similar to a remark that he made on Tuesday, when the president said he'll let Warsh "do what he wants to do" with interest rates.
Trump's stance this week is a shift, given he had been putting unprecedented pressure on the U.S. central bank for more than a year because it hasn't been cutting rates by as much as he wanted. The change looks like an acknowledgment that Warsh will be just one of 12 voters on the Fed's rate-setting committee, as well as an acknowledgment that there is growing support within the committee for a possible rate hike, rather than a cut, due to higher fuel prices because of the ongoing Iran war.
Economists have been saying that Warsh could be in for a rough start at his new job at an institution that has mostly emphasized its independence from politics. There has been considerable anticipation around whether he can chart a policy course that differs from the president's wishes ahead of crucial midterm elections in November.
Warsh is the first Fed chair in nearly 40 years to be sworn in at the White House; the location has added to concerns about a possible erosion of the central bank's independence. Democrats are skeptical that Warsh can act independently from Trump, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, calling him a "sock puppet" for the president.
See: 5 tests Kevin Warsh will face as Fed chair
Trump announced Warsh - a former Fed governor turned Fed critic - as his pick for chair in January. Warsh is taking over for Jerome Powell, whom Trump picked during his first presidential term. Powell said last month that he plans to remain on the Fed's board of governors until he's sure that the Trump administration has completely ended its probe into cost overruns for renovations to the central bank's headquarters. That investigation has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats as another way for Trump and his allies to put pressure on the Fed.
Warsh served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011. After leaving the central bank in 2011, Warsh, among other things, served as a lecturer at Stanford University's business school and as a visiting fellow at the university's Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank. He was also a partner in billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller's investment firm and was on the board of directors for shipping company UPS $(UPS)$ and Korean e-commerce company Coupang $(CPNG)$. Like Powell, Warsh has a law degree, while other recent Fed chiefs - Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan - had earned doctorates in economics.
Warsh, the wealthiest Fed chair ever, is married to billionaire Estée Lauder $(EL)$ heiress Jane Lauder. Estée Lauder shares were soaring Friday, with the jump attributed to news that the beauty company and a Spanish rival, Puig Brands (ES:PUIG), had ended talks about a possible merger.
Greg Robb contributed.
-Victor Reklaitis
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May 22, 2026 12:10 ET (16:10 GMT)
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