What economic experts think about Trump’s choice of Kevin Warsh for Fed chair – PBS News

• Full Episodes, Podcasts, Newsletters, Live

By — Hannah Grabenstein

What economic experts think about Trump’s choice of Kevin Warsh for Fed chair

Economy Updated on Jan 30, 2026 7:29 PM EST — Published on Jan 30, 2026 5:17 PM EST

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he would nominate Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, an independent agency that has been under pressure from the president to lower interest rates for the last year.

If confirmed, Warsh would succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell — a previous Trump nominee who has incurred the president’s ire for not heeding his demands — when Powell’s term expires in May.

Educate your inbox, Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address

Warsh served on the Fed Board of Governors from 2006 through 2011, where he had an opportunity to help shape the U.S. economy during one of its greatest periods of turmoil in recent history. Now a fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank, and a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, he also worked as an economic advisor to President George W. Bush.

Experts appear to view Warsh’s nomination with “cautious relief,” said Mark Gertler, a professor of economics at New York University.

Here are three things to know about Warsh and how he might influence the Fed as the agency’s new head.

1. Warsh is a lawyer, not an economist

Like Powell, Warsh has a J.D., not a Ph.D. in economics. Powell was the first Federal Reserve chair in 30 years to not have a doctorate in economics.

“The Fed’s culture is Ph.D. economists on top,” said Aaron Klein, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution.

“I think Powell was pretty deferential to what the professional staff economists’ view was,” he added.

But Warsh may have a different approach, said Klein, who first met him when Warsh was working at the National Economic Council at the White House. Lawyers view the world through a different cultural lens than macroeconomists do, he said.

WATCH: Supreme Court hears case on Trump’s attempt to control Federal Reserve

“The question is: Is Kevin going to shake up the culture of the Fed staff? Or is he going to show deference to the Fed’s Ph.D. economists who are accustomed to running the show?” Klein said.

That could influence his policy decisions, too, Gertler said. Warsh isn’t an economist and doesn’t speak — or necessarily reason — like one, he added.

“The reason I’m not too worried is Powell was not an economist either, but Powell learned over time. In fact, I think (he) learned pretty well,” Gertler said. “I’m hopeful that the same will be true with Warsh — that is, put him in there with a bunch of economists and they will help sharpen his thinking.”

2. In many ways, Warsh is a conservative pick

While not a macroeconomist by education, Warsh has a relatively traditional background for a Fed chair nominee, experts said.

He’s an academic with experience in the executive branch, as well as on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and is knowledgeable about financial markets. During his term as a board member, he was instrumental in helping then-Chair Ben Bernanke navigate the 2008 financial crisis.

“Warsh is a serious guy with a long track record and a deep experience,” Klein said. “Warsh was the Fed board’s interlocutor with the markets during the financial crisis.”

Gertler said that knowledge about financial markets is an important characteristic in a Fed chair, because while interest rate setting isn’t easy, it’s “straightforward.” But understanding the markets requires “specialized expertise,” which Gertler said he thinks Warsh has.

READ MORE: GOP senators break with Trump on these 2 points

Warsh also has a history of being intellectually conservative, Klein said, with an eye toward reducing government intervention in the markets.

“He’s not some outsider. This is not like Pete Hegseth coming in, or Kristi Noem, or whatever. This is someone who does have some genuine expertise, and he has been at the Fed,” Gertler said.

“He has not come across as overtly political in the way some other candidates did,” he added.

Warsh likely understands the Fed’s culture and is unlikely to “try and tear the place apart,” Gertler noted. That’s giving experts reason for some relief, he said.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: What economic experts think about Trump’s choice of Kevin Warsh for Fed chair | PBS News

SCOTUStoday for Monday, January 12 – SCOTUSblog

Newsletter

SCOTUStoday for Monday, January 12

By Kelsey Dallas, on Jan 12, 2026

Facebook LinkedIn X Email Print

Today marks the start of the court’s January argument session. The court will hear seven arguments over the next 10 days on such issues as transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, gun rights, and President Donald Trump’s bid to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.

SCOTUS Quick Hits

• The Supreme Court released an opinion on Friday, but perhaps not the one you were expecting. The 5-4 ruling was in Bowe v. United States, a case on a federal prisoner’s efforts to obtain post-conviction relief. In an opinion from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court held that a federal law instructing courts to dismiss a claim presented in a second or successive habeas corpus application does not apply to motions filed by federal prisoners. Justice Neil Gorsuch filed a dissenting opinion, joined in full by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, and in part by Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
• Also on Friday, the court indicated that it may announce opinions on Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST. SCOTUSblog will be live blogging any opinion announcements beginning at 9:30.
• Friday afternoon, the court announced that it had granted review in five cases. For more on these disputes, see the On Site section below.
• This morning, the court is expected to release an order list with denied petitions and other case updates at 9:30 a.m. EST.
• The justices will hear argument today in Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on the circumstances in which a federal contractor can transfer a case from state to federal court. Justice Samuel Alito will not participate because he has a financial interest in ConocoPhillips, which is the parent company of one of the defendants.
• Tomorrow, the justices will hear arguments in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., on laws barring transgender athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams. We will be live blogging the arguments beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST.

Morning Reads

• Eyes are on Gorsuch as Supreme Court weighs rights of trans athletes (Julian Mark, The Washington Post)(Paywall) — In 2020, Justice Neil Gorsuch “wrote one of the Supreme Court’s most consequential rulings expanding legal rights for gay and transgender people” in a case on employment discrimination. Now, “Gorsuch is again in the spotlight,” according to The Washington Post, as the court considers two disputes over laws preventing transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports. The law’s opponents are drawing on that 2020 ruling as they try to persuade Gorsuch to protect transgender athletes, per the Post, while the law’s supporters argue that “sports is different from the workplace.”
• Supreme Court, Swamped by Emergencies, Neglects Rest of Docket (Adam Liptak, The New York Times)(Paywall) — The court’s Friday ruling in Bowe v. United States has the distinction of being the first opinion in an argued case to be released this term. The fact that it didn’t arrive until January is notable, because “[o]ver the last 80 years, the Supreme Court has only once before waited until January to issue its first opinion in an argued case,” according to The New York Times. Experts specializing in Supreme Court advocacy told the Times that “a spike in action on the court’s other docket,” where the justices address requests for interim relief, “seems to have diverted the court from its merits docket,” slowing the pace of opinions.
• These are the books families opted-out of after Supreme Court fight (Talia Richman, The Baltimore Banner) — In a June 27 ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor, the “Supreme Court sided with a group of parents [in Montgomery County, Maryland] who sought the right to opt-out of lessons that included LGBTQ storybooks,” holding that refusing such opt-out requests violates religious freedom. Since then, according to The Baltimore Banner, “[i]n a district of more than 156,000 students, just 56 families asked Montgomery County school leaders to excuse their child from reading books that conflict with their religious beliefs.” These requests mostly came from “the parents of elementary schoolers” and “generally centered around books with LGBTQ characters, as well as those that included themes of diversity.”
• Lawsuits by Trump allies could shape how the 2030 census is done and who will be counted (Mike Schneider, Associated Press) — “The next U.S. census is four years away,” but legal battles over it have already begun, according to the Associated Press. “Allies of President Donald Trump are behind the federal lawsuits challenging various aspects of the once-a-decade count by the U.S. Census Bureau,” including the inclusion of noncitizens. “The first Trump administration also attempted to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census questionnaire, a move that was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
• Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Happy New Hires (David Lat, Original Jurisdiction) — In a post for his Substack, David Lat offered an update on Supreme Court clerk hiring and highlighted recent research on the jobs clerks typically have before and after working for a justice. He also highlighted various studies about clerkships, including investigations into what factors contribute to judges becoming feeder judges for the Supreme Court, such as the training they offer their clerks, personal relationships, and ideological compatibility.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: SCOTUStoday for Monday, January 12 – SCOTUSblog

🎺

Per #NBC

A federal judge on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order blocking President Donald #Trump’s firing of #FederalReserve governor #LisaCook for now.
She is allowed to continue carrying out her work during that time.
In granting the order, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb said that "the Court will enter an #injunction directing [Fed Chair Jerome] #powell and the #BoardofGovernors to allow Cook to continue to operate as a member of the Board for the pendency of this litigation."

Fed governor Lisa Cook plans lawsuit to challenge Trump’s decision to oust her over mortgage applications

President Trump said late Monday he removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her post, following through on a t…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Cooking #BoardofGovernors #federalreserve #JeromePowell #LisaCook #mortgagefraud #presidenttrump
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2251968/fed-governor-lisa-cook-plans-lawsuit-to-challenge-trumps-decision-to-oust-her-over-mortgage-applications/

Federal funding cuts and changing athletics landscape pose financial hurdles for UNC System – WSOC-TV

Federal funding cuts and changing athletics landscape pose financial hurdles for UNC System

Additionally, the board will consider the implications of Congress’s recent vote to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasting, affecting TV and radio stations operated by the state’s public universities.

The rapidly changing landscape of college athletics also presents financial challenges, with some schools facing a negative athletics fund balance, according to a budget document prepared for the meeting.

UNC System President Peter Hans is expected to report on new accreditation efforts as the system plans to leave its current accrediting body to join a new group formed with several other states.

The lack of a new state budget has created uncertainty for large capital projects, including a new children’s hospital and the remediation of Poe Hall at N.C. State University.

Enrollment changes are also a concern, with some universities expecting a drop in enrollment, which may lead to a redistribution of funds.

The Board of Governors’ meeting will be crucial in addressing these financial challenges and setting the direction for the UNC System as it navigates the upcoming school year amid ongoing uncertainties.

The University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors is set to meet on Thursday to address significant financial challenges facing the state’s public universities as the 2025-26 school year approaches.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Federal funding cuts and changing athletics landscape pose financial hurdles for UNC System

#2025 #America #BoardOfGovernors #Books #Charlotte #DonaldTrump #Finance #Health #History #Libraries #LibraryOfCongress #NorthCarolina #Politics #PublicUniversities #Resistance #Science #Trump #TrumpAdministration #UNC #UnitedStates #UniversityOfNorthCarolina #WSOC

Kathleen Kennedy to Be Honored With ASC’s Board of Governors Award
#MovieNews #Movies #AmericanSocietyofCinematographers #Awards #Awards2025 #BoardofGovernors #KathleenKennedy #Lucasfilm

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kathleen-kennedy-asc-board-of-governors-award-1236084364/

The #UNC #System is coming after #DEI on #campuses. The #LGBTQ #community worries it's next.

2 months before, the #BoardofGovernors had repealed its #policy requiring #DEI #offices, #staff, and #initiatives at every #publicuniversity in the #state and replaced it with a #directive #enshrining “#institutional #neutrality.”

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #NorthCarolina #HigherEducation #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #Censorship #RepublicanParty #ThePartyOfHate

https://www.wfae.org/2024-09-02/unc-system-dei-diversity-lgbtq

Motion Picture Academy Elects New 2024 Board Of Governors; Academy Museum Gala Names Honorees Quentin Tarantino, Rita Moreno, Paul Mescal.
#News #AcademyMuseumOfMotionPictures #AcademyofMotionPictureArtsandSciences #BoardofGovernors #Oscars #PaulMescal #QuentinTarantino #RitaMoreno

https://deadline.com/2024/06/motion-picture-academy-elects-new-2024-board-of-governors-academy-museum-gala-names-honorees-quentin-tarantino-rita-moreno-paul-mescal-1235969240/