By Nicole Goodkind
The Federal Reserve Board named Jerome Powell chair pro tempore Friday as his term as chair formally expired, a move intended to bridge the gap until his confirmed successor is sworn in.
Powell will hold the temporary designation until Kevin Warsh, confirmed by the Senate 54-45 on Wednesday, officially becomes the Fed's 17th chair.
The move drew dissent from Governor Stephen Miran, while Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman abstained.
In a joint statement, the pair, both nominated by President Donald Trump to serve on the Board, said that Powell's designation should be capped at no more than a month and subject to renewal by board vote or presidential action if Warsh has not been sworn in by then.
The two governors argued the situation has no historical precedent, given that a confirmed successor has never before been waiting in the wings at the moment a chair's term lapsed, and said they could not support a temporary designation with no defined endpoint.
"Given that we do not support an unlimited timeframe for temporary chair designation, we cannot support this action," they wrote.
While they released the letter spelling out their dissent, the Fed clarified that Bowman had abstained from the vote.
Chair Powell, Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and Governors Michael Barr, Lisa Cook, and Christopher Waller voted in favor of Powell's new designation.
Warsh's approval is said to be waiting on final paperwork, including the president's signature and proof of divestment from some of his holdings. He could be sworn in as early as Monday.
Getting to this point wasn't simple. The last major obstacle to Warsh's chairmanship was removed last month when Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) announced he would support Warsh's confirmation, ending a standoff that had threatened to stall the nomination in the Senate Banking Committee.
Tillis had said he wouldn't let Warsh out of committee as long as the Justice Department's criminal investigation of Powell remained active. With Republicans holding a 12-10 edge on the Banking Committee, one defection was enough to block the nomination.
The logjam finally broke when U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her office was dropping the criminal probe and handing the matter to the Fed's own inspector general, which has been investigating cost overruns from the central bank's multibillion-dollar Washington headquarters renovation since last July.
Powell has said he plans to stay on the board, where his term runs through 2028, until he feels confident that any legal threat has fully passed.
Warsh will take Miran's seat on the board -- Miran issued his resignation letter as governor on Thursday, effective upon the swearing in.
"Going forward, I am excited about changes Chairman-designate Kevin Warsh and the Federal Reserve may make in areas such as communications policy, balance sheet policy, and keeping the Federal Reserve to its narrow mandate and out of hot-button political and cultural issues," he wrote.
Miran has opposed every Fed policy decision since joining the board in September, voting instead in favor of lower interest rates.
Write to Nicole Goodkind at nicole.goodkind@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2026 17:56 ET (21:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments