‘I want him to be totally independent’: Trump swears in Kevin Warsh as new Fed chair

US President Donald Trump on Friday (May 22) participated in the swearing-in ceremony of Kevin Warsh as the new Federal Reserve Chairman. Trump added that he wants Warsh to serve “totally independent”. Trump also urged the central bank head to let the economy “boom”. Donald Trump, who nominated Kevin Warsh for the position, has repeatedly pressured the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and often publicly criticised his predecessor, Jerome Powell.

“Honestly, I really mean this, this is not said in any other way. I want Kevin to be totally independent,” Trump said. “I want him to be independent and just do a great job. Don't look at me, don't look at anybody, just do your own thing, and do a great job.”

Trump argued that the Federal Reserve had drifted away from its primary responsibilities in recent years by focusing on issues such as climate policy and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives instead of its core economic mandate.

“In the eyes of many, the Fed lost its way in recent years. It became distracted by concerns far removed from its core mission and mandate, drifting into matters such as climate policy and DEI initiatives,” he added.

He also blamed the previous administration’s deficit spending and the Fed’s policy direction for triggering what he described as historically high inflation in the United States.

“With the Fed straying from its mandate, while the last administration blew out the deficit, Americans suffered the worst inflation that we had in history. It was the worst inflation we've ever had,” he said.

Praising Warsh's economic outlook, Trump said, “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.”

“We have to go crazy, just let it boom. We want it to boom.”