Trump nominates Kevin Warsh as new Federal Reserve chair – live updates

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Kevin Warsh, who served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, has been an outspoken Fed critic, lambasting everything from the central bank’s heavy reliance on data to its use of assets on its balance sheet.

The 55-year-old economist, a fellow at the right-leaning Hoover Institution who serves on the board of UPS, had also been considered for Fed chair during Trump’s first term.

He briefly overtook Trump loyalist Kevin Hassett in prediction markets last month before falling back to second place.

Warsh had a relatively “hawkish” reputation in his first stint as Fed governor, meaning that he tended to favour higher interest rates and focused on concerns about inflation.

But he is now seen as a voice that would support lower rates in the near term.

“He thinks you have to lower interest rates,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal in December. “And so does everybody else that I’ve talked to.”

Warsh also has close family connections to Trump’s orbit. His father-in-law, billionaire businessman Ronald Lauder, is a long-time Trump donor and ally.