Kevin Warsh to be sworn in as Fed chair amid persistent inflation

Kevin Warsh will be sworn in as chairman of the Federal Reserve at the White House on Friday, taking command of the nation's central bank as inflation runs well above the Fed's 2 percent target, The Korea Times reported.

Warsh, 56, inherits a central bank caught between persistent price pressures and presidential demands for lower borrowing costs — a standoff whose outcome on interest rates stands to affect mortgage payments and small-business credit lines for Orange County's Korean-American community.

Warsh previously served as a Federal Reserve governor during the 2008 global financial crisis. President Donald Trump selected him to lead the central bank, and the Senate confirmed him May 13 on an almost-party-line vote, according to The Korea Times.

The confirmation cleared a final obstacle after the resolution of a criminal investigation into outgoing Chair Jerome Powell stemming from cost overruns at the Fed's Washington headquarters. The Korea Times reported that the settlement satisfied a Republican senator who had been withholding support for Warsh's nomination.

Powell's eight-year tenure as Fed chair formally expired ahead of Friday's ceremony. He was sworn in as chair pro tempore to bridge the leadership transition and will continue to serve as a member of the Fed's Board of Governors.

Warsh steps into the role as annualized inflation remains significantly above the central bank's 2 percent target. Two forces are driving prices higher, according to The Korea Times: tariffs Trump imposed in his first year in office, which raised costs on imported goods, and an energy price shock triggered by the Iran war that has rippled across goods and services. The current Federal Reserve policy rate stands at 3.50 to 3.75 percent.

Warsh's first rate-setting meeting as chair is scheduled for mid-June. Interest-rate futures markets currently assign effectively zero probability to a rate change at that session, a signal that investors expect the new chairman to hold borrowing costs steady while price pressures persist.

Warsh's confirmation ends an era defined by Powell's stewardship through the pandemic economy and the post-COVID inflation surge. His tenure will be measured by how he navigates the Fed's dual mandate — stable prices and maximum employment — at a time when presidential pressure and market expectations are pulling in opposite directions.