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  • Trump Pushes for Lower Mortgage Rates, but Fed Pick Kevin Warsh Could Tighten Policy

    Trump Pushes for Lower Mortgage Rates, but Fed Pick Kevin Warsh Could Tighten Policy

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a move that reeks of the same old establishment maneuvering, President Donald Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor with deep ties to Wall Street and neoconservative circles, to replace Jerome Powell as Fed Chair. Trump, ever the populist showman, has been pounding the drum for lower mortgage rates to ease the burden on everyday Americans squeezed by skyrocketing housing costs. Yet, his pick—Warsh, a vocal critic of the Fed’s bloated $6.6 trillion balance sheet—could very well steer policy in the opposite direction, tightening the screws on borrowers and inflating risks for the broader economy. This nomination, announced Friday amid Trump’s ongoing feud with Powell, highlights the president’s contradictory impulses: championing the working class while cozying up to financial elites whose agendas often prioritize globalist interests over Main Street relief.

    Trump’s announcement came via his Truth Social platform, where he gushed over Warsh as “one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” describing him as “central casting” who “will never let you down.” It’s classic Trump hyperbole, but beneath the bluster lies a potential policy clash. The president has made housing affordability a cornerstone of his economic agenda, repeatedly vowing to slash interest rates to make homeownership accessible again. “We can drop interest rates to a level, and that’s one thing we do want to do,” Trump declared last month. “That’s natural. That’s good for everybody.” Mortgage rates, which hovered above 7% in early 2025, have become a political lightning rod, locking out first-time buyers and fueling resentment toward the elite-driven housing bubble.

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    But Warsh, with his history of hawkish stances on inflation and skepticism toward easy money policies, isn’t the dovish ally Trump might imagine. As a former Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, Warsh was knee-deep in the Bush administration’s response to the 2008 financial crisis, collaborating closely with Ben Bernanke on bailouts that propped up Wall Street at the expense of ordinary taxpayers. Critics, including those wary of neoconservative overreach, argue that era’s interventions—rooted in endless wars and deficit spending—set the stage for today’s economic distortions. Warsh has lambasted the Fed’s quantitative easing programs, which ballooned the balance sheet from $900 billion in 2008 to a peak of $9 trillion by 2022, before a modest rollback to $6.6 trillion today. In an April speech, he warned that such expansions “encroach further on other macroeconomic domains,” leading to “more debt accumulated… more capital misallocated… risks of future shocks magnified.”

    Shrinking that balance sheet—holding $4.3 trillion in Treasuries and $2 trillion in mortgage-backed securities—could directly counteract Trump’s rate-cutting dreams. By unloading these assets or letting them mature without reinvestment, the Fed would flood the market with supply, pushing up long-term yields and, consequently, mortgage rates. As Yale professor and former Fed official Bill English noted, “If all he does is move to a smaller Fed balance sheet, it’s hard to see how that would be consistent with lower mortgage rates, and that creates some tension with the president.” This isn’t just academic jargon; it’s a recipe for higher borrowing costs that could exacerbate the housing crisis Trump claims to fight.

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    Market reactions were telling: The dollar surged while gold and silver prices tumbled, signaling traders’ bets against aggressive rate cuts under Warsh. Investors see him as a bulwark against political meddling, but skeptics view this as code for preserving the status quo favored by global financial powers. Warsh’s recent pivot toward openness on rate cuts—after criticizing the Fed’s September 2024 reduction—smacks of opportunism, aligning with Trump’s demands while masking his deeper reservations. As Harvard economist Jason Furman quipped, Warsh’s desire to trim the balance sheet might “collide with reality,” leading to gradual changes at best. Yet, in a Trump administration eager to project economic wins, such caution could frustrate the president’s base.

    Warsh’s nomination caps a tumultuous saga with Powell, whom Trump appointed in his first term but later branded a “moron” for resisting deeper cuts. The feud escalated when the Department of Justice launched criminal investigations into Powell, an unprecedented assault on Fed independence that has alarmed even some Republicans. Senator Thom Tillis vowed not to confirm any nominee until the probe ends, calling it essential to protect the central bank from “political interference or legal intimidation.” Meanwhile, Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren blasted the move as Trump’s “latest step in [his] attempt to seize control of the Fed,” tying it to broader efforts to oust critics like Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

    But let’s peel back the layers on Warsh himself. At 55, he’s a product of the elite circuit: A Morgan Stanley mergers-and-acquisitions banker turned Bush White House economic adviser, then the youngest Fed governor ever at 35. Today, he’s a fellow at the Hoover Institution—a bastion of neoconservative thought—and a lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. His board seats at UPS and affiliations with groups like the Group of Thirty and the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Economic Advisors scream establishment insider. More intriguingly, Warsh’s personal connections raise eyebrows among those questioning undue influences in U.S. policy.

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    Warsh is married to Jane Lauder, granddaughter of cosmetics mogul Estée Lauder, whose Eastern European Jewish immigrant roots built a billion-dollar empire. Warsh himself identifies as Jewish, and his father-in-law, Ronald Lauder—president of the World Jewish Congress and a fervent Zionist—has been a longtime Trump confidant since their Wharton School days. Lauder’s influence extends beyond cosmetics; he’s pushed Trump on issues like acquiring Greenland, where he has investments in development and bottled water. The World Jewish Congress, under Lauder, aggressively advocates for Israeli interests, often lobbying U.S. policymakers to prioritize Zionism amid global conflicts. Critics argue this network exemplifies how a small cadre of influential Jewish figures—tied to finance, media, and politics—wields outsized power, sometimes at the expense of American sovereignty. Warsh’s ascent, facilitated by these ties, fuels suspicions that Fed policy could subtly favor internationalist agendas over domestic relief, echoing neoconservative priorities that have dragged the U.S. into endless Middle East entanglements.

    This isn’t to say Warsh lacks credentials; he was a key communicator during the 2008 crisis, bridging policymakers and markets. But his “hawkish” reputation—favoring tighter policy to combat inflation—clashes with Trump’s push for stimulus. Some economists speculate Warsh might invoke offbeat theories, like a productivity boom from AI justifying cuts, or even the fiscal theory of the price level, where lower rates reduce deficits and curb inflation. Yet, with labor force growth stalled by immigration crackdowns and aging demographics, the standard model warns against it. As one analyst put it, Warsh is “hamstrung” on multiple fronts, including the balance sheet.

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    Trump edged out other contenders like Fed Governor Christopher Waller, BlackRock’s Rick Rieder, and adviser Kevin Hassett, reportedly because Warsh signaled willingness to cut rates. In a Fox Business interview last year, Warsh backed easing to boost growth, critiquing the Fed for straying into “political areas” like climate change—areas outside its mandate, he argued. But his past objections to low rates during crises, including downplaying unemployment in 2008 as it neared 10%, paint him as a “chameleon,” per policy expert Skanda Amarnath. “His track record speaks to someone who is pretty partisan and political,” Amarnath said, noting Warsh’s shifts depending on who’s in power.

    If confirmed—facing a Senate grilling over Trump’s Fed assaults—Warsh could assume the role by mid-May, when Powell’s term expires. Speculation swirls on whether Powell would step down early or dig in. Economists like Robert Rogowsky call Warsh a “solid pick” but warn of his potential as a “political opportunist”—hawk under Democrats, dove for Trump. Rachel Ziemba of the Center for a New American Security adds that Trump’s trade wars and immigration policies could stifle growth, making rate cuts ineffective anyway.

    In the end, this nomination underscores the rot in Washington’s financial corridors: A president railing against elites while appointing one with Zionist and neoconservative baggage, potentially sabotaging his own pro-worker promises. Americans deserve a Fed that prioritizes domestic stability over global distortions, not another insider perpetuating the cycle of debt and inequality.

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  • Trump Has a New Opportunity to Influence the Federal Reserve

    Trump Has a New Opportunity to Influence the Federal Reserve

    In an unfolding drama at the intersection of politics and economics, former President Donald Trump is poised to gain new influence over U.S. monetary policy. The early resignation of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee, has opened a vacancy on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors—just as markets are betting on a looming interest rate cut following weak labor data.

    If reelected, Trump would have the opportunity to fill that seat—and later, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s position in 2026—giving him a powerful lever to shape monetary policy, especially amid rising demand for rate relief.

    Adriana Kugler resigned effective August 8, nearly 17 months before her term was set to end in January 2026. Until now, her departure marks the first vacancy on the seven-member Fed board under Trump’s second term. Her exit presents Trump with immediate appointment power, allowing him to put a likely rate-cut advocate in place well before the September rate decision.

    Kugler’s early departure—unexpected for many political watchers—provides a rare opportunity amid increasingly charged discussions around Fed independence and political influence over interest rate decisions.

    On August 1, the July jobs report disappointed across the board: just 73,000 jobs added vs. expectations of ~110,000, and May/June revisions that cut 258,000 jobs combined. Unemployment ticked up to 4.2%, with labor participation falling further.

    The fallout was immediate: markets sharply increased the odds of a September Fed rate cut:

    According to CME FedWatch, cut odds jumped from 63.3% to 75.5%, then to about 88.2%, although Powell’s hawkish remarks later pulled them back somewhat. Inflation, however, remains above the Fed’s 2% target—with headline PCE at 2.6% and core PCE at 2.8% in June—temper market enthusiasm for a cut.

    At the most recent FOMC meeting, the Fed opted to hold rates at 4.25–4.50% for the fifth consecutive time. Chair Jerome Powell asserted the labor market was “broadly in balance”, but reiterated that persistent inflation and tariffs remain risks. These comments were interpreted as relatively hawkish—a stance that reduced cut odds temporarily.

    Still, the economic slowdown has emboldened voices like Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic and dissenter Christopher Waller, who support earlier easing, arguing the labor market impact is mounting.

    Trump continues to intensify pressure on Powell, calling him “too late” on rate cuts and firing criticism at the Fed’s approach.

    With the vacant seat, and several others looming in the next two years (including Powell’s chairmanship in May 2026), Trump may swiftly shape the Fed’s leadership. He has already narrowed his list of potential Fed chairs to four, including Kevin Hassett and Kevin Warsh, both aligned with his earlier economic views.

    Politico reports suggest Trump will avoid nominating Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as Fed chair, favoring loyalists instead.

    Financial analysts caution: while Trump may not remove Powell mid-term, he could appoint a new governor now and a new chair later—creating a slow-motion shift at the institution’s helm.

    While markets rejoice at rate cut possibilities, economists warn premature easing could undermine inflation control. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley maintain that the Fed may stay on hold until 2026, pointing to strong labor metrics, rebounding consumer spending, and structural inflation risks tied to tariffs and demographics.

    Meanwhile, President Trump’s dismissal of the Bureau of Labor Statistics director, accused of manipulating data without evidence, has further spooked investors about the integrity of economic reporting—a move criticized for politicizing critical statistical institutions.

    Market Expectations: Futures markets have priced in nearly a 90% chance of a 25 bps cut in September, with the potential for additional reductions totaling 60 bps by year-end.

    Monetary Independence at Risk: Trump’s ability to appoint new governors—including a future Chair—raises concerns about political influence over the Fed.

    Economic Impact: Rate cuts would ease borrowing costs, boost equities (especially tech and growth stocks), and potentially weaken the dollar.

    Long-Term Policy Direction: A Trump-aligned Fed could steer toward looser monetary policy—even in the face of inflation risks.

    A rare vacancy on the Fed board—coupled with surging rate cut expectations—has given President Trump an opening to reshape U.S. monetary policy. With chairmanship up for grabs in 2026 and growing investor pressure for interest rate relief, the Fed sits at a crossroads. Under a second Trump administration, the institution that long stood aloof from politics may find itself aligned firmly with a new partisan economic agenda.

  • Trump has decided against selecting Scott Bessent to lead the Federal Reserve

    Trump has decided against selecting Scott Bessent to lead the Federal Reserve

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a move with deep implications for U.S. monetary policy and global financial markets, President Donald J. Trump announced on Tuesday that he has officially ruled out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as a contender for the next Federal Reserve chair, narrowing the shortlist to four candidates. Among the top names are Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, and two other unnamed individuals—one widely believed to be current Fed Governor Christopher Waller.

    The decision coincides with the early resignation of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee, which Trump called a “pleasant surprise.” Kugler’s exit provides Trump an immediate opening to install a political and economic ally onto the Fed’s Board of Governors, an opportunity he appears eager to seize ahead of a critical rate decision by the central bank next month.

    Kugler announced she would step down by Friday, cutting her term short to return to academia at Georgetown University. Her departure gives Trump not only an opportunity to shape the near-term direction of Fed policy but also the chance to potentially elevate her short-term replacement into the top job at the Federal Reserve once Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends in May 2026.

    In an interview with CNBC earlier Tuesday, Trump hinted at using the vacancy to install someone who could both serve the remainder of Kugler’s term and become Powell’s successor—effectively giving his pick months of influence over monetary policy before facing full Senate confirmation for the 14-year term.

    “A lot of people say, when you do that, why don’t you just pick the person who is going to head up the Fed?” Trump said. “That’s a possibility too.”

    The exclusion of Scott Bessent, the current Treasury Secretary and a prominent market figure, narrows Trump’s Fed chair options. Trump said Bessent preferred to remain at Treasury, removing himself from contention.

    Trump now appears focused on a smaller circle of candidates with strong ideological alignment and past affiliations with his administration. Kevin Hassett, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and consistent Fed critic, are now considered leading contenders.

    Economists see this narrowing as an attempt to cement Trump’s influence over the Fed and steer it toward a more dovish monetary stance—particularly as he continues to criticize Chair Powell for not cutting interest rates since Trump returned to office in January.

    Investors are already anticipating a rate cut at the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on September 17, especially after last week’s disappointing July jobs report. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a 25-basis-point cut has surged to 90.4%, up dramatically from 63.3% just a week ago.

    The July nonfarm payroll report, released last Friday, showed only 73,000 jobs added, far below the 110,000 estimated by economists surveyed by LSEG. In addition, downward revisions of 258,000 jobs across May and June further confirmed a weakening labor market.

    While Powell has remained cautious, citing inflation still above the 2% target, market participants now view a rate cut as all but inevitable—especially with the political pressure intensifying from the White House.

    Trump’s dismissal of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer—reportedly over dissatisfaction with job numbers—has added fuel to concerns about politicization of U.S. data institutions. The firing, which came the same day as Kugler’s resignation, has drawn sharp criticism from economists and policy observers who warn of a deterioration in the credibility of official economic data.

    Michael Strain of the conservative American Enterprise Institute warned:

    “If you appoint somebody perceived to be a lackey as the Fed chair, take the BLS freakout and multiply it by 1,000.”

    Indeed, skepticism about Trump’s intentions has only grown with his pattern of clashing with Powell, his handpicked Fed chair during his first term, whom he later turned against for not being more aggressive on rate cuts.

    The Federal Reserve has held interest rates steady at 4.25%–4.50% through five meetings this year, despite growing evidence of a cooling economy. Inflation, measured by the Fed’s preferred Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, rose to 2.6% in June, with core PCE (excluding food and energy) increasing to 2.8%, casting doubts on how quickly the Fed could pivot to an easing stance.

    But the weak jobs data appears to have tipped the scales in favor of a September cut. Fed Governor Christopher Waller, reportedly among the top four Fed chair candidates, dissented in the July policy vote, arguing that the inflation risks from Trump’s tariffs were “modest,” and that rate cuts should begin sooner due to broader economic softening.

    By selecting Kugler’s interim replacement now—possibly someone who would later be nominated as chair—Trump gains a chance to “test-drive” his preferred monetary policy approach, influencing Fed decision-making in the run-up to the 2026 election cycle. However, any permanent appointment would require Senate confirmation, a process that could become contentious, especially if Democrats regain control of the chamber.

    James Fishback, CEO of Azoria investment firm and former advisor in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is reportedly among those who have expressed interest in a temporary Fed appointment. While the White House has not confirmed his candidacy, sources indicate materials were requested from Fishback earlier this week.

    With Trump once again reshaping America’s most influential economic institution, Wall Street and central bankers worldwide are watching closely. The combination of leadership reshuffling, data skepticism, and intensifying political pressure is turning the usually sober world of monetary policy into high-stakes drama.

    Whether the eventual nominee is Hassett, Warsh, Waller—or another surprise pick—Trump appears poised to install a Fed chair more aligned with his aggressive pro-growth, low-interest-rate vision. What that means for inflation, employment, and economic stability remains uncertain.

    But one thing is clear: the independence of the Federal Reserve—long seen as a cornerstone of U.S. economic credibility—is facing its most serious test in decades.

  • Donald Trump’s preferred choice to head the Fed was banker Kevin Warsh

    Donald Trump’s preferred choice to head the Fed was banker Kevin Warsh

    Kevin Warsh was sitting in the East Room of the White House when President Donald Trump took a beat to praise the former central banker. At the January 2020 signing ceremony, Trump turned to the former Federal Reserve governor — a finalist for the central bank’s top job a couple of years earlier — and delivered an unscripted aside.

    “I would have been very happy with you,” Trump said, singling out Warsh. “I could have used you a little bit here. Why weren’t you more forceful when you wanted that job?”

    It was yet another implicit swipe at Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair Trump had ultimately selected in late 2017 but soon soured on — and a revealing moment for Warsh, whose close ties to Republican economic circles have long kept him in the conversation for top policymaking roles.

    Now, with about a year remaining of Powell’s term as chair, Warsh is once again seen as a leading contender to run the central bank. The banker had previously served on the seven-member Fed board from 2006 to 2011, becoming, at 35, the youngest governor in its history.

    Warsh has long been viewed by Wall Street as a strong contender to succeed Powell, whose policies he has criticized. Warsh was also briefly under consideration to become Trump’s compromise pick to run the Treasury Department amid infighting for the job between Wall Street financier Scott Bessent and brokerage executive Howard Lutnick last fall. Bessent, who ultimately became treasury secretary, told Bloomberg last month that White House officials will start interviewing for the Fed job later this fall.

    If nominated, Warsh could face questions about his long-standing, hawkish views over inflation and the significant expansion of the Fed’s balance sheet. He has argued that the Fed’s extended reliance on low interest rates and large-scale asset purchases has blurred the line between monetary and fiscal policy, encouraging unsustainable levels of government spending. That view could put him at odds with a White House eager to spur faster growth and looser monetary policy to juice the economy.

    Still, some Fed watchers see Warsh as a more plausible option compared with some of the people Trump considered for the central bank during his first term. Economics commentator Judy Shelton and the late Herman Cain — a former GOP presidential candidate and restaurant executive — failed to get on the Fed board when it was clear a significant number of Republican senators wouldn’t support them. Cain wasn’t even nominated.

    Others expected to be in the mix include Kevin Hassett, who heads the White House National Economic Council, and Bessent, a former hedge-fund executive. Fed governor Christopher Waller is also seen by Fed watchers as a possible pick.

    Warsh has been out of government for nearly 15 years, some critics said, which could put him at a disadvantage with other officials vying to succeed Powell. Neil Dutta of Renaissance Macro Research noted that Powell and his immediate predecessors, Janet L. Yellen and Ben S. Bernanke, were elevated to the top job from senior roles within the central bank.

    “He hasn’t been anywhere close to making decisions on matters of monetary policy in a long time. All he does is criticize decisions after they are made,” Dutta said.

    White House spokesman Kush Desai said any discussion about potential personnel and nomination decisions that have not been officially announced by the White House is “pure speculation.”

    Trump has said he doesn’t intend to fire Powell, despite repeatedly criticizing the Fed leader for not lowering interest rates to soften the effects of his disruptive trade policies. Still, it’s unclear when Trump will actually be able to replace Powell. His term as chair runs until May 2026, but he can stay on the Fed’s board as a governor until January 2028. Powell hasn’t said whether he’ll step down immediately once his term as chair ends. The earliest chance Trump has to install a new Fed governor may not come until January, when Adriana Kugler’s term expires.

    Warsh began his career in 1995 at Morgan Stanley, where he worked as a mergers and acquisitions banker. He joined the George W. Bush administration in 2002 as an economic adviser, and four years later was appointed to the Fed. There, he served as a liaison between the central bank and Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis, before stepping down in 2011.

    In a speech last week on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, Warsh criticized the Fed for “systematic errors” that allowed inflation to surge coming out of the pandemic. The Fed’s inability to control inflation, along with what he described as its efforts to cater to political issues such as climate change, had contributed to the challenges to its independence from the president.

    “The Fed’s current wounds are largely self-inflicted,” Warsh said at an event hosted by the Group of Thirty, an independent global body that includes prominent economic leaders and policymakers. He characterized his lecture as a “love letter” to the Fed but said its officials should be subjected to “serious questioning, strong oversight, and, when they err, opprobrium.”

    Warsh said that the Fed should narrow its focus but could have been more outspoken about the risks of large federal deficits, which he blamed the central bank for helping to facilitate through the growth of its balance sheet since the 2008 financial crisis.

    He said he supported the Fed’s initial bond-buying stimulus push — helping to pull the economy out of a sharp, crisis-triggered downturn — but he took issue with the Fed continuing those efforts in the years after the crisis.

    Congress found it considerably easier appropriating money knowing that the government’s financing costs were effectively subsidized by the central bank, Warsh said. Other Fed watchers say the lackluster economic recovery, featuring high unemployment and below-target inflation, necessitated looser monetary policy for longer.

    Warsh is married to Estée Lauder heiress Jane Lauder. Since leaving the Fed, he has been a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, a scholar at the conservative Hoover Institution and a business partner of investor Stanley Druckenmiller.

    Warsh’s ties to Republican circles are extensive. His father-in-law, billionaire cosmetic heir Ronald Lauder, is also a Trump ally who first floated the idea of the United States buying Greenland during the first term.

  • Trump Aims to Remove Powell from the Fed, with Kevin Warsh Ready to Step In

    Trump Aims to Remove Powell from the Fed, with Kevin Warsh Ready to Step In

    President Donald Trump on Thursday again made clear his disdain for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, going so far as to say the central banker’s “termination can’t come fast enough” and saying in an Oval Office event that Powell will “be out of there real fast” if he wants.

    While many experts say the president does not in fact have the power to fire the Fed chief due to policy differences, Trump has made clear he’s willing to break with norms and precedent, even in the face of potentially monumental repercussions.

    Regardless, the leading contender to lead the US central bank under Trump, whether at the end of Powell’s term in May 2026 or earlier, reportedly appears to be Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor who previously was under consideration to be Trump’s Treasury secretary for the president’s second term and was a candidate for the top job at the Fed during Trump’s first term.

    The Budgets previously reported that Warsh was again on Trump’s shortlist to become Fed chair this time around, once Powell’s time is up. In fact, Trump’s selection of Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department was seen by many as a way to leave Warsh open for an eventual appointment as Fed chair.

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg earlier this week that the administration will start interviewing candidates for Powell’s successor “sometime in the fall.” And with speculation swirling over whether Trump will try to oust Powell before his term ends, Bessent said that “monetary policy is a jewel box that’s got to be preserved.”

    But who is the man who might soon lead one of the world’s most powerful financial institutions?

    The man who could be the next Fed chair

    Warsh, 55, was a vice president and executive director at Morgan Stanley in the company’s mergers and acquisitions division before serving as a special assistant to then-President George Bush for economic policy and as executive secretary at the National Economic Council.

    Like Powell, Warsh does not have a graduate degree in economics. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1995.

    Bush appointed Warsh to the Fed’s Board of Governors in 2006, where he served during the height of the Great Recession as chief liaison to Wall Street.

    In that role, he helped coordinate the sale of Bear Sterns to JPMorgan Chase. But he also allowed Lehman Brothers to go under in 2008, a watershed moment for global financial markets. Warsh resigned from the Fed in 2011 after publicly voicing his opposition to the central bank’s plan to buy $600 billion worth of bonds to inject more money into the economy.

    More recently, Warsh advised Trump’s transition team on economic policy after the November election. In a January opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, he joined Trump in criticizing the Fed for letting inflation rise sharply during and after the pandemic.

    Warsh currently serves as a distinguished economics fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank; and is a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

    Additionally, he is a member of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s panel of advisers. He is married to billionaire Jane Lauder, granddaughter of Estée Lauder, the late cosmetics industry mogul.

    His views on economic events and the Fed

    In his Wall Street Journal op-ed, Warsh wrote that high inflation rates over the past few years arose from “a government that spent too much and a central bank that printed too much.” However, most mainstream economists attribute inflation’s eruption in 2021 mostly to pandemic-induced shocks to demand and supply.

    Warsh wrote that “the Fed should steer clear of political prognostications, not just in word but in deed,” pointing to minutes from a Fed meeting last year indicating officials believed Trump’s proposed policies could fuel inflation.

    In an interview with Fox Business ahead of the Fed’s latest policy meeting last month, Warsh said the turmoil sparked by Trump’s tariff war indicates an economy that “is transitioning.”

    “The president inherited a fiscal and economic and regulatory mess, and it’s going to take a little digging out to be on a stronger platform for growth,” he said. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, so this will take some time.”

    When asked about the likelihood of Trump’s tariffs stoking inflation, Warsh said that “inflation is a choice, and the Fed has made a lot of bad choices over these last several years.”

    “The president has to take matters into this own hands and try to kill inflation by reducing government spending,” he said.