Kevin Warsh sworn in as Federal Reserve chair at White House ceremony

Kevin Warsh was sworn in Friday as chair of the Federal Reserve at a White House ceremony hosted by President Donald Trump, an unusual setting for the handover of one of the country’s most important economic posts and one that immediately sharpened focus on the central bank’s independence. Trump said he wanted Warsh to be “totally independent” as he takes over the Fed at a time of persistent inflation pressure.

At the ceremony in the White House East Room, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath, according to Yonhap reporting from the event. Warsh succeeds Jerome Powell as chair of the Fed’s Board of Governors. Trump said, “I want Kevin to be totally independent. I want him to be independent and just do a great job. Don't look at me, don't look at anybody, just do your own thing and do a great job.”

The transition comes with the Fed under especially close watch. The chair oversees the U.S. central bank, whose statutory aims are price stability and maximum employment, and Warsh takes office as inflation pressures remain elevated. Reporting around the handover has pointed to energy and commodity shocks tied to the Middle East conflict, while markets reassess the likely path of interest rates.

Warsh used his first remarks to frame the job around the Fed’s core mandate. “Our mandate at the Fed is to promote price stability and maximum employment. When we pursue those aims with wisdom and clarity, independence and resolve - inflation can be lower; growth, stronger; real take-home pay, higher,” he said.

The Senate confirmed Warsh on May 13 by a 54-45 vote, according to the official roll call. He will serve a four-year term as chair while also beginning a 14-year term as a member of the Board of Governors, the Washington-based body that leads the central bank.

Warsh is not new to the institution. He previously served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, including during the financial crisis. The White House setting for his swearing-in was widely described as uncommon in recent decades, with reporting saying the last comparable White House ceremony for a Fed chair was Alan Greenspan’s in 1987 — a reminder that even the venue can carry symbolism when the office is meant to operate independently of day-to-day political control.