Senate approves the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Fed chairman

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's top choice, as Federal Reserve chairman for a four-year term, and successor to Jerome Powell, AFP confirmed.

Warsh will inherit a central bank whose independence is under attack from the executive and an economy in which inflation is at a three-year high.

The Senate voted 54 in favor and 45 against to confirm Warsh who, like Trump, has advocated for lower interest rates.

Powell's term ends this week

Jerome Powell's term as Fed chairman concludes this week, although his tenure on the Board of Governors extends through January 2028. Powell has signaled that he plans to remain on the agency at least until the investigation related to the renovation of the Fed's Washington, D.C., headquarters is completed.

The project was under review by the Justice Department, which opened a criminal investigation into the work, although the case was shelved earlier this month. However, an independent report by Federal Reserve inspector general Michael Horowitz, whose findings could be known soon, is still awaited.

During his tenure at the helm of the central bank, Powell faced repeated criticism from Donald Trump, mainly for his refusal to aggressively cut interest rates. Trump has advocated rate cuts to stimulate an economy he sees as slowing.