Kevin Warsh, designated Friday by Donald Trump as his candidate to head the Federal Reserve (Fed), has established himself in recent months as a defender of presidential policies and critic of the American central bank, of which he was already one of the governors.
• Also read: Here is Trump’s choice to succeed Jerome Powell as head of the Fed
• Also read: Trump’s choice for Fed is ‘fantastic,’ says Mark Carney
Kevin Warsh, 55, is one of the two “Kevins” who were tipped to replace Jerome Powell, with Kevin Hassett, loyal economic advisor to Donald Trump, whom he overtook in the final stretch.
He has already voted on American monetary policy, as governor of the Fed from 2006 to 2011.
He was propelled to this position by the then Republican president, George W. Bush, and became at 35 the youngest governor in the history of the central bank.
He could have retained this position until 2018, the initial end of his mandate, but resigned in 2011 criticizing the continuation of the very accommodating monetary policy adopted to support the recovery, after the financial crisis of 2008.
A gesture which classified him in the camp of “hawks”, a term which designates officials generally very attached to the fight against inflation and resistant to low rates.
But the label came off somewhat during 2025, as a result of pleading for a more flexible monetary policy.
“Credibility”
Financial players, however, seemed to think on Friday that Kevin Warsh would not act as Donald Trump’s Trojan horse and would know how to protect the institution from political interference.
For analysts from the Italian bank UniCredit, the ex-governor “brings his experience and credibility at a time when the independence of the Fed is under attack” by the tenant of the White House.
“It’s hard to say whether Warsh committed anything to Donald Trump to win the job,” they observe.
In any case, he showed that he espoused several creeds of the executive.
In an article published by the Wall Street Journal in November, Kevin Warsh denounced the “failing governance” of the Fed and defended the government’s “pro-growth policies”.
Mr. Trump had considered appointing Mr. Warsh as head of the institution in 2018, during his first term. He ultimately preferred Mr. Powell – a choice that the head of state very quickly regretted.
“Beautiful door”
On Friday, he said of his foal that he was “very intelligent, very good, quite young”. “Physique doesn’t mean anything but he looks good,” added the president who likes to surround himself with telegenic people.
Immediately after the announcement, a commentator from the American financial channel CNBC noted this unsuspected asset of Kevin Warsh: “He has beautiful hair. »
Born in Albany, New York, Kevin Warsh studied at prestigious American universities (Stanford, Harvard) and navigates in an ultra-privileged environment.
He worked for several years for the Morgan Stanley bank where he rose to the rank of vice-president.
He left banking and the field of mergers and acquisitions to become one of President George W. Bush’s economic advisors, particularly in charge of capital flows, financial markets and banks.
It was at this time that he married Jane Lauder, family heiress to the Estee Lauder cosmetics group. A family bond that brings him closer to Donald Trump.
Jane’s father, Ronald Lauder, a billionaire and major contributor to the Republican Party, is a childhood friend of the American president and an occasional advisor.