Warsh sworn in as Fed chair, vows 'reform-oriented' central bank

Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Federal Reserve chair at the White House on Friday, pledging to lead a "reform-oriented" central bank as the United States confronts consumer inflation running at a three-year high of 3.8 percent.

The ceremony — the first White House swearing-in for a Fed chief since Alan Greenspan in 1987 — signals a new chapter for an institution that has faced sustained pressure from the Trump administration, including efforts to remove Warsh's predecessor and at least one sitting governor, according to The Korea Times.

Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath of office before a White House audience that included Justice Brett Kavanaugh and President Donald Trump. In his opening remarks, Warsh drew a clear line between his tenure and the status quo. "To fulfill this mission, I will lead a reform-oriented Federal Reserve, learning from past successes and mistakes, both escaping static frameworks and models, and upholding clear standards of integrity and performance," he said, according to The Korea Times.

Trump praised the new chair and vowed the central bank would remain free from political interference. "Kevin understands that when the economy is booming, that's a good thing. We want to stop inflation, but we don't want to stop greatness," Trump said. The president also declared Warsh would be "totally independent" — an assertion that drew skepticism given his history of publicly demanding rate cuts and pursuing legal action against Powell.

Warsh laid out an economic vision anchored in artificial intelligence. He argued that AI-driven productivity gains would allow the economy to expand rapidly without stoking price pressures. "Inflation can be lower, growth stronger, real take-home pay higher, and America can be more prosperous," he said. With unemployment holding steady near 4.3 percent for roughly a year, the new chair inherits a labor market that is stable but far short of a rate-cutting mandate under the Fed's 2 percent inflation target.

Not all analysts share Warsh's optimism. David Wessel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said structural realities would likely frustrate the White House's appetite for cheaper credit. "Kevin Warsh will not be able to deliver the rate cuts that the president wants. At some point, the president may grow impatient and will begin attacking Mr. Warsh as he did Jerome Powell," Wessel told The Korea Times.

Powell, who repeatedly declined to yield to White House pressure across his term, chose to remain on the Fed board as a governor rather than leave the institution entirely — a move widely read as a quiet defense of the central bank's independence norms.

The Fed's dual mandate — targeting 2 percent inflation alongside maximum employment — leaves Warsh with little room for swift rate action. With prices running nearly double the central bank's long-term goal, any move to cut rates risks reigniting the inflationary pressures the institution has spent years fighting.