Kevin Warsh sworn in as Fed chair with lowest Senate votes in history

Omor Ibne Ehsan Mon, May 25, 2026 at 4:10 AM PDT 4 min read

Quick Read

• S&P Global (SPGI) reported that the Iran conflict is causing increasingly evident damage to growth and prices, with headline PCE at 3.5% year-over-year in March 2026 and energy inflation spiking 11.56% month-over-month.
• Bank of America (BAC) earnings remain highly sensitive to Fed policy and loan demand, as rate-sensitive sectors like regional banks and REITs await relief that inflation data are not delivering.
• New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh inherits a hawkish committee and an elevated inflation backdrop that justifies holding rates steady — protecting him from White House pressure for near-term cuts and shifting the policy burden to inflation data rather than presidential loyalty.

Kevin Warsh took the oath as Federal Reserve chair on Friday in a White House ceremony — only the second Fed swearing-in held at the executive mansion in nearly 40 years. The last was Ronald Reagan hosting Alan Greenspan in 1987, a tableau the Trump White House is happy to revive.

The optics matter because Warsh was confirmed with the lowest number of Senate votes in Fed history, a margin built almost entirely on doubts about whether he would operate as a presidential loyalist willing to deliver the rate cuts the administration wants.

Yet the more interesting read came from CNBC's Mike Santoli on Squawk on the Street, who flipped the conventional worry on its head.

"I think the data and the composition of the committee are basically gifts to him because they give cover to why we can't cut rates today," Santoli said, adding that "his sort of the influence of the president on Warsh peaks the moment he's confirmed."

Why the Macro Backdrop Protects Him

Start with the inflation picture:

• Headline PCE ran at 3.5% year-over-year in March 2026, up from 2.83% in February.
• Core PCE accelerated to 3.2%.
• Energy was the key driver, with a 14.43% year-over-year reading and an 11.56% month-over-month spike — much of it tied to the Iran conflict.

S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) says the conflict is doing "increasingly evident" damage to growth and prices.

CPI tells the same story. The index climbed from 325.252 in January 2026 to 333.020 in April — a steady monthly grind higher.

None of that builds a case for easing. Recent FOMC minutes show a committee entrenched in a hawkish direction, and markets are not pricing meaningful near-term cuts. So when the new chair sits down at his first meeting and explains why policy stays put, he has the staff projections, the dot plot, his colleagues, and the tape all backing him up.

The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 stocks — and S&P Global wasn't one of them. Get them here FREE.

View Comments | Terms | Privacy Policy | CA Privacy Notice | Your Privacy Choices | More Info