Kevin Warsh sworn in as Fed chair, but Trump’s rate cuts look increasingly unlikely

EconomyKevin Warsh sworn in as Fed chair, but Trump’s rate cuts look increasingly unlikely Inflation is rising and there is a consensus forming among economists that interest rates should not come down in the the near future.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Kevin Warsh in Washington on April 21.Chen Mengtong / China News Service via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 22, 2026, 12:12 PM EDTBy Steve KopackKevin Warsh was sworn-in Friday as the new chair of the Federal Reserve, the world’s most influential central bank.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Warsh’s formal assumption of the role comes after the Senate confirmed him to lead the Fed May 13 in a 54-45 vote along party lines. The only Democrat to cross the aisle was Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.The optics of Friday’s event, in the White House’s famed East Room and with lengthy remarks by President Donald Trump, underscore just how tightly the president would like to control the Fed and its interest-rate setting body. The last Fed chair to be sworn in at the White House was Alan Greenspan, in 1987. The two most recent chairs, Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell were both sworn in by fellow board members in low-key ceremonies at the bank‘s headquarters.Warsh takes the helm of Federal Reserve at a challenging moment for the central bank. Inflation is on the rise, the labor market is under pressure and a consensus is forming among economists that interest rates should not be lowered in the the near future.On Friday, Fed governor Christopher Waller — a Trump appointee — said, “I can no longer rule out rate hikes further down the road if inflation does not abate soon.” Waller added that he thinks the next statement from the Fed’s rate-setting committee should “make it clear that a rate cut is no more likely in the future than a rate increase.”That consensus runs directly counter to Trump’s longtime goal of bringing abou...