By Matt Grossman and Nick Timiraos
President Trump told his new Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, to ignore the political pressure that has surrounded his appointment, then used the swearing-in ceremony on Friday to press the economic case at the heart of it.
"I want Kevin to be totally independent," Trump said at the White House. "Don't look at me. Don't look at anybody."
Moments later, he laid out the view he hopes the new chair will carry into office: that a booming economy needn't be reined in, and that strong growth doesn't cause inflation.
"We want to stop inflation," Trump said, "but we don't want to stop greatness."
Those dueling benedictions point to the challenge ahead for Warsh, who is inheriting a burgeoning inflation problem that could make it difficult to persuade his new colleagues that the low rates Trump wants are advisable.
Here are some of the key moments from the swearing-in ceremony at the White House.
A hint from the president
In introductory remarks, Trump briefly endorsed Fed independence, the notion that the central bank should be free from political influence when setting monetary policy.
But he quickly pivoted to arguments for why the Fed should view rising inflation as a one-off and keep rates lower to give the economy room to run.
"Kevin understands that when the economy is booming, that's a good thing. We don't have to go crazy. Just let it boom. We want it to boom," Trump said.
For economists and investors who watch the Fed closely, how Warsh handles those competing messages from the president will define the early months of his tenure.
Tolerating rising inflation could prove especially difficult. Warsh would need to persuade his colleagues at the Fed to lay off the reins, but a growing group of Fed officials has become more anxious about rising prices.
'They'll be listening to Kevin'
In practice, the Fed sets rates by committee vote, not by automatic deference to the chair. Warsh's central challenge, now that he has the job, is winning over the 11 other members who vote on rates. Most of them weren't appointed by Trump, and Warsh can't replace them.
Trump nodded to that challenge with a rosy prediction. The Fed's other policymakers "make their own decisions," Trump said, "but they'll be listening to Kevin all the way." Even those "from a somewhat different persuasion," he added, would defer to Warsh "out of respect."
Sworn in by Justice Thomas
After Trump's introduction, Warsh swore an oath administered by Justice Clarence Thomas, whom he praised as a "brilliant and independent thinker." As a Stanford undergrad, Warsh worked as a White House intern on Thomas's 1991 confirmation to the court.
Warsh was joined by his wife, Jane Lauder. Also attending the ceremony: Justice Brett Kavanaugh, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Vice President Dan Quayle -- a group that emphasized Warsh's longstanding ties to Republican politics.
Greenspan, not Bernanke
Warsh said little that was specific about how he will approach the nuts and bolts of Fed policy in brief remarks following the swearing-in. But he invoked Alan Greenspan, sworn in at the same spot in 1987, saying he would fill the role "with energy and purpose, just the way Chairman Greenspan did."
He didn't mention Ben Bernanke, the chair he actually served under for all five of his years as a governor, including during the 2008-09 financial crisis. The omission squares with Warsh's reform agenda, which is largely about returning the Fed to the smaller, quieter institution it was before Bernanke grew its presence.
Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com and Nick Timiraos at Nick.Timiraos@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 22, 2026 14:08 ET (18:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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