President Donald Trump on Friday named Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, ending a prolonged odyssey that has seen unprecedented turmoil around the central bank.The decision culminates a process that officially began last summer but started much earlier than that, with Trump launching a fusillade of criticism against the Powell-led Fed almost since Powell took the job in 2018. “I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the selection.The pick of Warsh, 55, likely won’t ripple markets because of his past Fed experience and Wall Street’s view that he wouldn’t always do Trump’s bidding.”He has the respect and credibility of the financial markets,” said David Bahnsen, chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.””There was no person who was going to get this job who wasn’t going to be cutting rates in the short term. However, I believe longer term he will be a credible candidate,” added Bahnsen.Stock market futures nevertheless were slightly negative Friday morning, though off their lows since Warsh’s appointment became clear.Since Powell’s confirmation in 2018, during Trump’s first term, the president has persistently hectored policymakers to lower interest rates aggressively. Even with three successive reductions in the latter part of 2025, Trump kept up the attack, pressing for lower rates and criticizing Powell for cost overruns at the Fed’s massive renovation of its Washington, D.C., headquarters.For his part, Warsh in a CNBC interview last summer called for “regime change” at the Fed.”The credibility deficit lies with the incumbents that are at the Fed, in my view,” he said during the July interview. It’s a position that could pu …
