US president Donald Trump said he would name former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
"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 chairman, maybe the best," Trump said on social media early Friday. "On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,' and he will never let you down."
Warsh, a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former Morgan Stanley director, became the youngest Fed governor at 35 in 2006, serving through the financial crisis until 2011. After serving at the Fed, he joined the Hoover Institute as a senior fellow.
If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace Powell, whose term ends in May. Trump has repeatedly derided Powell as a "numbskull" for allegedly being too slow to cut interest rates. The Fed this week kept its target rate unchanged after making three quarter-point rate cuts late last year.
