Kevin Warsh Yet to Be Inaugurated, Jerome Powell to Serve as Interim Chairman of The Fed

The Federal Reserve (The Fed) has appointed Jerome Powell as interim chairman, or chair pro tempore, until Kevin Warsh is officially inaugurated as the new head of the US central bank.

In its official statement, the Federal Reserve Board stated that the appointment was made following the end of Powell’s term as chairman on Friday, May 15, 2026. This move is said to follow previous leadership transition practices within the US central bank.

“Powell will serve as chair pro tempore until Warsh is sworn in as the new chairman,” the Federal Reserve Board stated.

However, the transition process has reportedly not been entirely smooth.

According to US media reports, two members of the Federal Reserve Board, Stephen Miran and Michelle Bowman, opposed the decision to appoint Powell as interim official because there is no clear timeframe regarding the status.

Powell is also said to still remain on the Federal Reserve Board until the government ends the legal investigation against him.

The yield on US government bonds with a two-year tenor, which is often used as a benchmark for interest rate expectations, has reportedly risen by more than 0.5 percentage points since the increase in geopolitical tensions, which has raised concerns about inflation.

Meanwhile, the yield on 30-year bonds has broken the 5.1 percent level, a level that last held before the global financial crisis of 2007-2009.

The market is also starting to anticipate that The Fed under Warsh’s leadership could raise interest rates as early as next January as inflation expectations increase.

He is also known to be critical of quantitative easing (QE) policies, namely the purchase of large amounts of bonds by The Fed during economic crises.

According to Warsh, this policy has been carried out too often without clear rules regarding the types of assets purchased, the amount of purchases, and the strategy for ending the policy.

Currently, the total assets of The Fed are recorded at around 6.7 trillion US dollars, down from a peak of around 9 trillion US dollars in 2022, although they have gradually increased again to maintain the liquidity of the banking system.