Written by Turner Wright⁠, Staff Writer. Reviewed by Robert Lakin⁠, Staff Editor.

Senate confirms Kevin Warsh to lead Federal Reserve

Latest NewsPublishedMay 13, 2026

The US Senate voted largely along party lines to confirm Kevin Warsh to lead the Fed’s Board of Governors, despite many Democrats’ concerns about the central bank’s independence.

The US Senate has approved Kevin Warsh as the newest governor of the Federal Reserve and confirmed him as chair of the central bank, succeeding Jerome Powell.

Wednesday's cloture vote for Warsh to be the next Fed chair tallied votes at 54-45 along party lines, with the exception of Democratic Senator John Fetterman, to approve President Donald Trump’s nominee.

He was approved as a Fed governor on Tuesday in a 51-45 vote also along party lines, also with Fetterman joining Republicans.

Source: US Senate

The votes confirmed Warsh as a Fed governor for 14 years and a four-year term as chair. He previously served as a Fed governor under former US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama from 2006 to 2011.

Powell, whose term as Fed chair ends on Friday, has faced Trump’s repeated threats to fire him. His term as a Fed governor will continue until 2028, but the shakeup in the leadership of the US central bank has the potential to move markets amid concerns over changing interest rates and the Fed’s independence from the White House’s policies.

Warsh said in a 2025 interview that Bitcoin (BTC) was a “transformative” technology and “an important asset that can help inform policymakers.” During his confirmation hearing in the Senate Banking Committee, however, many Democrats questioned whether, as Fed chair, he could remain independent from the president’s policy agenda.

Crypto market structure bill markup scheduled for Thursday

The vote on the nomination came the same week that US lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee will choose whether to advance a digital asset market structure bill expected to change oversight and regulation of cryptocurrencies. On Monday, the panel's leadership released the text of its version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY), which included a compromise provision on stablecoin yield that had long been a sticking point for many in the crypto and banking industries.

On Thursday, the banking committee will hold a markup on CLARITY, potentially setting the bill up for a vote in the full Senate.

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