The U.S. Senate has confirmed Kevin Warsh, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick for Federal Reserve chair, as a member of the Fed's Board of Governors. A separate vote on his confirmation as chair is expected to take place Thursday.
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Senate passed Warsh's nomination as a Federal Reserve governor in a plenary session Wednesday local time, with 51 votes in favor and 45 against. The term for a Fed governor is 14 years.
A separate vote on Warsh's nomination as chair is expected to be held Thursday. Fed governor and chair positions go through separate Senate confirmation procedures. Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term ends on the 15th.
Earlier, Trump nominated Warsh as the next Fed chair on January 30 this year, pinning his hopes on interest rate cuts. Warsh's nomination subsequently cleared the Senate Banking Committee on the 29th of last month. At a press conference held the same day, just after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regular meeting, Powell said, "I will continue to serve as a governor for some time even after my term as chair ends," adding, "I have stated that I will not leave the board until the (U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into the Fed and me) is concluded transparently, finally and completely." Powell's term as a governor runs until January 31, 2028.
If Warsh assumes the chairmanship, he is expected to preside over the FOMC meeting on the 16th and 17th of next month. According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch tool, federal funds rate futures markets priced in a 97.6% probability that the Fed would hold rates steady next month. The probability of a 0.25 percentage point rate cut was just 2.4%.
