Kevin Warsh Confirmed as Next Federal Reserve Chair in Closest Senate Vote Ever

CNBC reported Wednesday that Kevin Warsh has been confirmed as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome Powell in the central bank’s top role. The Senate approved his nomination 54-45, the narrowest margin ever recorded for a Fed chair confirmation in the modern era.

A Party-Line Vote With One Defection

The confirmation came after a search process that began in the summer of 2025. Nearly a dozen candidates were considered at various points, including current Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman. The final tally broke almost entirely along party lines. Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman was the sole Democrat to cross over and support Warsh, who becomes the 11th Fed chair of the modern banking era. White House spokesman Kush Desai called the confirmation a step toward “restoring accountability, competence, and confidence in Fed decision-making.”

Warsh’s First Stint and Fed Criticism

This is not Warsh’s first time inside the Eccles Building. He served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, a turbulent period that spanned the subprime mortgage collapse and the ensuing global financial crisis. During that crisis, the Fed launched an unprecedented asset-purchase program that expanded its balance sheet beyond $4 trillion. Warsh publicly argued the effort went too far. In the years since departing, he lectured at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and remained a pointed critic of central bank policymaking. In a CNBC interview last year, he called for “regime change” at the institution.

An Uncomfortable Backdrop for the New Chair

Warsh steps into the role at a difficult moment. Fresh inflation data published this week showed price pressures running well above the Fed’s 2% target, with pipeline costs accelerating at their fastest pace in more than three years. Markets have scaled back rate-cut expectations in response and are now pricing in a small chance of a rate increase later in 2026. President Donald Trump has openly pressed for lower borrowing costs and repeatedly criticised Powell for what he viewed as overly restrictive policy.

Powell Stays; Miran Departs

Powell’s term as chair expires Friday, but he retains his seat on the Fed board for two more years. He indicated last month he would remain at least until an internal investigation into headquarters renovation spending concludes. His return to the board is the first by a departing chair in nearly eight decades. Warsh fills the seat previously held by Stephen Miran, who had dissented at every FOMC meeting since joining the board in September 2025, consistently pushing for deeper rate reductions than the committee approved.

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