Trump wants to fire Fed Chair Powell. Kevin Warsh may be the one to replace him

President Donald Trump on Thursday again made clear his disdain for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, going so far as to say the central banker’s “termination can’t come fast enough” and saying in an Oval Office event that Powell will “be out of there real fast” if he wants.

President Donald Trump on Thursday again made clear his disdain for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, going so far as to say the central banker’s “termination can’t come fast enough” and saying in an Oval Office event that Powell will “be out of there real fast” if he wants. While many experts say the president does not in fact have the power to fire the Fed chief due to policy differences, Trump has made clear he’s willing to break with norms and precedent, even in the face of potentially monumental repercussions. Regardless, the leading contender to lead the US central bank under Trump, whether at the end of Powell’s term in May 2026 or earlier, reportedly appears to be Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor who previously was under consideration to be Trump’s Treasury secretary for the president’s second term and was a candidate for the top job at the Fed during Trump’s first term. CNN previously reported that Warsh was again on Trump’s shortlist to become Fed chair this time around, once Powell’s time is up. In fact, Trump’s selection of Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department was seen by many as a way to leave Warsh open for an eventual appointment as Fed chair. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg earlier this week that the administration will start interviewing candidates for Powell’s successor “sometime in the fall.” And with speculation swirling over whether Trump will try to oust Powell before his term ends, Bessent said that “monetary policy is a jewel box that’s got to be preserved.” But who is the man who might soon lead one of the world’s most powerful financial institutions?