Trump administration prepares for Warsh Fed Chair nomination

Saleha Mohsin, Josh Wingrove, Joshua Green and Laura Davison, Bloomberg News on Jan 29, 2026

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WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing for the president to nominate Kevin Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve chair, according to people familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to announce his pick to lead the U.S. central bank on Friday morning.

The people, who requested anonymity to discuss matters not yet public, cautioned that the selection is not final until Trump makes a formal announcement.

The White House and Warsh did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Warsh, a former Fed governor and one of the four finalists on Trump’s shortlist to be the next central bank leader, visited the White House on Thursday, one person said.

Stocks fell and Treasury yields pushed higher on bets Warsh will become the next Fed chair. The U.S. dollar extended gains, while precious metals declined.

Prediction markets showed a surge in bets earlier Thursday on Warsh being chosen.

Other candidates on the shortlist have included National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Fed Governor Christopher Waller and BlackRock Inc. executive Rick Rieder.

The president teased his impending announcement without giving the name away Thursday evening, saying the pick won’t be too surprising and will be someone known to everyone in the financial world.

“A lot of people think this is somebody that could’ve been there a few years ago,” Trump said.

Warsh served on the U.S. central bank’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011 and has previously advised Trump on economic policy. If nominated and confirmed, he would succeed Jerome Powell, whose term at the helm ends in May. It would mark a comeback for Warsh, 55, whom the president passed over for the top job in 2017 when he selected Powell.

Warsh has aligned himself with the president in recent months by arguing publicly for lower interest rates, going against his longstanding reputation as an inflation hawk.

Trump has sought a candidate who would be broadly acceptable to markets and also shares his inclination to cut interest rates further and faster.

The Fed earlier this week held rates steady after lowering them three times at the end of 2025.

(Justin Sink, Nancy Cook, Michael McKee, Silla Brush and Paul Dobson contributed.)