U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is nominating Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, to be the next chair of the central bank.

"I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to be the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM," Trump wrote via his social media platform, Truth Social. "I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best. On top of everything else, he is 'central casting,' and he will never let you down."

The position requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Warsh, 55, was nearly named to the ‍job in Trump's first term before being passed over for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and since then ‍has kept a steady public profile through speeches and essays that have taken Powell and his colleagues to task for their management of the Fed's balance ‍sheet, interest rates and other actions.

The Fed has long been seen ​as a stabilizing force in global financial markets due in no small part to its perceived independence from politics.

Trump's escalating efforts to test that independence, including in January ‌his Justice Department's decision to open a criminal probe into Powell, have set the stage for a challenging Senate confirmation process for any successor.

It has also opened the door to the possibility that Powell, who called the criminal probe a pretext to pressure the Fed into setting monetary policy as the president wishes, may opt to stay on at the Fed even after his chair term is up in a ‍bid to safeguard the Fed from political capture.

The nomination caps a months-long process that often resembled a public audition as Warsh, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett and other top contenders, including sitting Fed governor Christopher Waller and Wall Street insider Rick Rieder, appeared regularly on television to tout their credentials and showcase their thoughts about the economy and Fed policy.

Trump in August 2025 named White House adviser Stephen Miran to the Fed, where he has become a leading proponent of the aggressive rate cuts that Trump has long sought. Trump has also tried to force out Fed Governor Lisa Cook in a battle now before the Supreme Court that, if successful, would mark the first time a president has ever fired a Fed ‍policymaker.

(With input from agencies)