The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on Tuesday, moving closer to President Donald Trump’s choice to become the next chairman of the U.S. central bank.
Lawmakers approved Warsh by a vote of 51 to 45. Senator John Fetterman (Democrat of Pennsylvania) was the only Democrat to support the nomination.
Warsh still must win a separate vote in the Senate to become Fed chairman, which is expected Wednesday. Governors serve a 14-year term while the president has a four-year term.
If confirmed as chairman, Warsh, 56, would replace Jerome Powell, whose eight-year term as head of the Fed ends Friday. Powell said, however, that he plans to stay on the board until the conclusion of a federal investigation into the Fed headquarters renovations.
Warsh takes office as policymakers face new inflationary concerns linked to the war in Iran and rising energy prices. Investors are also watching for signs of how the Fed might approach interest rates and financial market regulation under its new leadership.
The former Morgan Stanley banker has drawn attention for his ties to the crypto industry. Financial disclosures filed with the Office of Government Ethics showed that Warsh held investments in blockchain and digital asset companies related to decentralized finance, crypto payments, and tokenized networks through venture funds and private entities.
The holdings included exposure to companies connected to Bitcoin infrastructure, layer 1 and 2 blockchain networks, and prediction markets. Warsh has pledged to divest most of these investments if confirmed.
His past investments suggest familiarity with crypto markets at a time when the Fed is weighing regulation of stablecoins, custody rules for banking cryptocurrencies and research into digital payment systems.
