Alan Greenspan, the influential economist and former chairman of the Federal Reserve, died on Monday. He was 100 years old.
Greenspan&#8217;s wife, NBC News anchor Andrea Mitchell, said the former Fed chairman died at home from complications related to Parkinson’s disease.
&#8220;He was a giant of a man who helped shape the U.S. economy for decades under presidents of both parties, but was always honest in acknowledging his mistakes,&#8221; Mitchell said.
“To me, he was my husband, who shaped my life from our very first date in 1984. He had ‘irrational exuberance’ for baseball, the Washington Commanders, tennis, golf and music, especially jazz,” Mitchell added. “He will be remembered for his brilliance and his kindness. Being his life partner was the joy of my life.”
Greenspan, who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve, led the Central Bank for nearly 19 years, serving under presidents from Reagan through George W. Bush. His tenure was the second-longest in the institution’s history, surpassed only by William McChesney Martin, who led the Fed from 1951 to 1970.
Greenspan is credited with steering the United States’s monetary policy from the end of the Cold War to the start of the digital age. His tenure saw “Black Monday,” when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22%, the burst of the dot-com bubble, and 9/11. 
After leaving the Federal Reserve, Greenspan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation&#8217;s highest civilian honor, by President George W. Bush.
Greenspan began his career on Wall Street as an equity research analyst at the investment bank Brown Brothers Harriman. He <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/obituaries/alan-greenspan-economist-longtime-head-federal-reserve-dies-100-rcna42286">served</a> as an informal domestic policy coordinator for Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign and officially entered public service under President Gerald Ford, as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1974 to 1977.
Reagan appointed Greenspan as Fed chairman in 1987. Greenspan developed a reputation for holding interest rates steady, particularly during periods of rapid technological innovation such as the age of the computer. He argued that a more accommodative monetary policy could help sustain economic growth and support productivity gains driven by technological advancement.
The Fed’s newest chairman, Kevin Warsh, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/article/new-fed-chair-kevin-warsh-suggests-he-may-take-an-alan-greenspan-style-approach-at-the-central-bank-135046787.html">implied</a> he might take a similar approach with the onset of artificial intelligence. “Like Alan, I intend to fill the role of chairman with energy and purpose, just the way Chairman Greenspan did.” 
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who gets breakfast with Warsh every Friday morning, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/article/new-fed-chair-kevin-warsh-suggests-he-may-take-an-alan-greenspan-style-approach-at-the-central-bank-135046787.html">said</a> earlier this year that, “The Fed needs to have merely an open mind. The open-minded maestro, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, resisted premature rate hikes during the technology boom of the 1990s — and history proved him right.” 
The Federal Reserve remembered his legacy in a statement early Monday morning. 
“The Federal Reserve notes with deep sadness the passing of Alan Greenspan. Chairman Greenspan served as the 13th Chairman of the Board of Governors from 1987 to 2006, and his contributions to monetary policy and economic thought left a lasting mark on this institution, on the broader field of economics, and on the country.” 
Former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, who succeeded Greenspan, also paid tribute to Greenspan. 
“He was a great central banker who helped lead his country through almost two decades of prosperity,” Bernanke said. “I always found him generous with his time and insights. We are still learning from him, even if he is no longer with us.”

Alan Greenspan

Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan Dies At 100

Andrea Mitchell

Death

Federal Reserve

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s “central casting” pick for the Federal Reserve, stepped into the spotlight on Friday, officially taking the helm as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Warsh, who replaces Jerome Powell as chairman, was sworn in in the East Room of the White House in a ceremony hosted by President Trump. 
“I expect he’ll go down as one of the truly great chairmen of the Federal Reserve,” Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCokNpi_Tow">said</a>. “Unfortunately, in the eyes of many, the Fed lost its way in recent years. It became distracted by concerns far removed from its core mission and mandate, drifting into matters such as climate policy and DEI initiatives … Kevin has spoken about a need to return to the Fed’s core mandate.” 
Critics of Warsh, such as leftist Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), argue that he will not be able to run the Fed independent of President Trump. 
“This guy is not independent,” said Warren. The Massachusetts senator even went as far as calling him Trump’s “sock puppet” while she grilled him during his confirmation hearing. 
At Warsh’s ceremony, Trump said, “I want Kevin to be totally independent. I want him to be independent and just do a great job. Don’t look at me, don’t look at anybody. Just do your own thing and do a great job.” 
Later in the speech, Trump hinted that Warsh would lower interest rates. 
“Thankfully, unlike some of his predecessors, Kevin understands that when the economy is booming&#8230; that’s a good thing. We don’t have to go crazy, just let it boom.” During Powell’s tenure, Trump argued the economy was strong and that Powell should lower interest rates. 
Warsh replaced Powell, who was also nominated by Trump eight years ago. Warsh takes over a Federal Reserve facing competing pressures. Inflation remains elevated amid the war with Iran, while the Trump administration continues to push for lower interest rates. After April’s hotter-than-expected inflation report, expectations for a rate cut in 2026 faded.
Warsh has suggested he will run a data-dependent Fed that will focus on its core mandate of keeping inflation at 2% while maximizing employment. During his confirmation process, Warsh said he intends to shrink the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, which still holds more than $6 trillion in Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. 
Trump nominated Warsh in January, but he was not confirmed by the Senate until May in the most partisan Fed chair confirmation vote in history. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) was the only senator to cross party lines in a 54-45 vote. Warsh&#8217;s confirmation was delayed by Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-kevin-warsh-as-fed-chair-in-big-win-for-trump">blocked</a> Warsh’s process until the Department of Justice dropped its criminal investigation into Powell. 
The Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation over Powell&#8217;s Congressional testimony on the Federal Reserve&#8217;s $2.5 billion renovations. 
In 2006, Warsh <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-is-kevin-warsh-meet-president-trumps-pick-to-chair-the-federal-reserve">became</a> the youngest appointed to the Fed’s Board of Governors. He emerged as a key figure during the 2008 financial crisis, helping coordinate the Federal Reserve’s response as markets spiraled. He also played a role in the government rescue of AIG and in the emergency negotiations that led JPMorgan Chase to acquire Bear Stearns. After leaving the Fed in 2011, Warsh joined the board of UPS and became a distinguished visiting fellow in economics at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-ECONOMY-TRUMP

Trump’s New Fed Boss Officially Takes Over

Donald Trump

Jerome Powell

Kevin Warsh

The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as chairman of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday in a 54-45 vote. Warsh will officially take over the position on Friday after Jerome Powell&#8217;s term as Fed chair concludes. 
The confirmation comes after Powell has faced months of pressure from President Donald Trump, as Powell has been hesitant to lower interest rates. Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was the only senator to cross party lines and vote for President Trump’s pick to lead the central bank.
While Warsh takes over as Fed chair, Powell will remain on the board as a governor. Powell&#8217;s term as Fed governor continues until 2028. 
Warsh&#8217;s confirmation didn&#8217;t come easy. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) blocked Warsh&#8217;s path through the Senate Banking Committee for months, refusing to move any Fed nominees while the Department of Justice was criminally investigating Powell over the $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve building. The DOJ ultimately dropped the investigation, causing Tillis to drop his hold. 
Warsh takes the helm of the central bank after previously serving as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, an appointment made by President George W. Bush. He became the youngest Fed governor in history at 35 and became well known as an inflation hawk. 
&#8220;We have the largest, most robust economy in the world. We have the deepest, most liquid financial markets. And the dollar is the world’s reserve currency, bestowing key advantages upon us. But, none of this is our birthright. It must be earned, and re-earned,&#8221; Warsh <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/kevin20100628a.htm">said</a> in a 2010 speech. 
Warsh left the Fed in 2011 to join UPS&#8217;s board and take positions at the Hoover Institution and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Warsh inherits a Federal Reserve being pulled in multiple directions. President Trump continues to call for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, but inflation is still on the rise amid tensions with Iran. After April’s hotter-than-expected inflation report, chances of a rate cut in 2026 declined.
Warsh criticized the central bank’s hesitancy to cut rates, but many people still view him as a hawk on inflation. In December, the chief economist of Deutsche Bank <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/interest-rate-changes-could-be-on-the-way-under-kevin-warsh-trump-s-pick-for-fed-chair-11895919">said</a> that “although Warsh has argued for lower rates recently, we do not view him as structurally dovish.”
Warsh told Congress he plans on shrinking the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, which holds more than $6 trillion in U.S. government bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Warsh argues that trimming the balance sheet will give the Fed room to lower interest rates.
He also plans to keep the Fed focused on its core mandate of maximizing employment and keeping inflation at 2%. Warsh says the central bank has drifted from that core mission and believes that decisions on which assets the central bank buys are better left to the Treasury Department.

Day Five Of The Spring Meetings Of The International Monetary Fund And World Bank

Senate Confirms Kevin Warsh As Fed Chair In Big Win For Trump

Inflation

Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday as Jerome Powell presided over his last meeting as chairman.
The Fed held the rates steady at 3.5-3.75%, set after the last cut in December of 2025, in a split (8-4) vote — the highest dissent level since 1992. Amid the ongoing tensions in Iran, the Federal Reserve has been engaged in a difficult balancing act, facing threats from inflation — with oil prices up 70% on the year — and a weakening labor market, but the split vote suggests that at least a few members favor lowering rates.
The Wednesday Federal Reserve meeting was Powell’s last as Fed chair, as his term is set to conclude on May 15. Despite the fact that he was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018, the two have had a rocky relationship. Trump often complained that Powell was not moving quickly enough to lower interest rates, nicknaming him “Too Late Powell.” Critics of Powell also argue that he was too late in raising interest rates during the Biden administration. 
“In retrospect, if you look at the data we now have, the Fed should have moved in the fall and maybe even the summer,” said Scott Lincicome, director of general economics and trade at the Cato Institute. 
Trump appointee Kevin Warsh is expected to move more quickly on interest rates, having criticized the Fed for reacting too slowly to inflation. At the same time, Warsh is likely to push for a reduction in the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, which expanded rapidly when the Federal Reserve resumed quantitative easing (QE) in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. Quantitative easing injects liquidity into the market through the purchase of bonds — and Warsh argued that the adoption of similar contingency policies had continued long after the crisis had ended, contributing to rising inflation. 
Warsh&#8217;s appointment was initially held up due to a criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve&#8217;s $2.5 billion renovations under Powell. Although Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) said he had full confidence in Warsh as a qualified nominee, he blocked the confirmation from proceeding because he disagreed with the DOJ&#8217;s decision to investigate Powell.
&#8220;Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable,&#8221; he said. Tillis chalked up the criminal allegations against Powell to a &#8220;young U.S. Attorney with a dream trying to get the president&#8217;s attention.&#8221;
Others, like Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), echoed the sentiment, saying he thought Powell made a &#8220;gross error in judgment,&#8221; but did not believe Powell committed a crime.
The DOJ ultimately dropped the investigation against Powell, clearing the way for Warsh and ensuring that Wednesday&#8217;s meeting would be Powell&#8217;s last as Fed chair.

US-ECONOMY-POLITICS-FED-RATE-POWELL

The Fed’s Latest Move As Powell Prepares to Exit

The Trump administration has dropped its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which will pave the way for Trump’s nominee Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Powell’s successor.
The investigation centered on the cost of renovations at the Washington, D.C., offices of the Federal Reserve, and whether Powell lied to Congress about it. The project was expected to cost about $1.9 billion, but the number ended up closer to $2.5 billion, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-12/why-the-federal-reserve-s-renovation-costs-2-5-billion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a>.
“This morning the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve has been asked to scrutinize the building costs overruns – in the billions of dollars – that have been borne by taxpayers,” Jeanine Pirro, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement posted to X on Friday morning.
She added that the inspector general is being asked to provide a report “in short order” to ensure that it will answering “the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas.”
“Accordingly, I have directed my office to close our investigation as the IG undertakes this inquiry. Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so,” she continued.
Critics of the investigation said that it risked the independence of the Federal Reserve—as Trump has been a staunch critic of Powell over interest rates. The president has repeatedly demanded the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates much more aggressively.
The decision to end the probe could satisfy an ultimatum from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a Trump critic, to move Warsh’s nomination out of the Senate Banking Committee.
“You have extraordinary credentials. They’re impeccable,” Tillis said at a committee hearing with Warsh earlier this week, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/business/5841124-tillis-doj-powell-probe-kevin-warsh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hill</a>.
Tillis bluntly stated over X that Warsh “is a great nominee to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and I look forward to supporting him out of committee once the DOJ drops their bogus investigation into Chairman Powell that threatens the independence of the Fed.”

President Trump Visits Federal Reserve

The Move That Just Cleared A Key Hurdle For Trump’s Plan To Change What You Pay

Executive

Jeanine Pirro

Politics

Trump Administration

U.S. Senate

President Trump declared on Tuesday that Kevin Warsh might have to sit next to him in the White House.
The president said on CNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Squawk Box&#8221; that if the $2.5 billion renovations at the Federal Reserve are not wrapped up by the time former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is confirmed as the new chair, he might not have a place to work.
Anchor Joe Kernan <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/04/21/president-trump-i-would-be-disappointed-if-kevin-warsh-doesnt-cut-rates-right-away.html">pushed back</a> on the president, saying, “I don’t know if Warsh will want to sit next to you after what happened to Jay Powell.”
Trump responded, “Maybe I’d like him next to me. Maybe it’s not a bad idea — Jerome Powell. I call him &#8216;too late.&#8217; He’s always too late,” the president said, referring to his infamous nickname for the current Fed Chair, Jerome “Too Late” Powell.
Trump revealed he would be “disappointed” if Warsh did not cut interest rates. “We should always have the lowest interest rate in the world,” he said. “When I was a young guy growing up, we always had the lowest interest rate worldwide.”
During Trump’s first term, the federal funds rate was at a near-zero range, beginning at 0.50%-0.75% and ultimately falling to 0.00%-0.25% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rates peaked at 2.25-2.50% in the second year of his term, which is about half as high as the peak during the Biden administration.
Trump says his new Fed chair is straight out of “central casting” and that “he’s going to do a great job.” While the president seems confident Warsh will lower interest rates, other economists regard Warsh as a hawk. “Warsh’s long-running hawkish views should help to counteract concerns that he might morph into a full-blown Trump stooge,” <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-01-30-2026/card/would-warsh-be-a-hawk-or-dove-as-fed-chair--aCblKxbKeE8i0ZN2jla9">said</a> Deputy Chief Economist at Capital Economics Stephen Brown.
Warsh is set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, which is considering his nomination. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Banking Committee, says he’ll block not just Warsh, but any nominee until the Department of Justice probe into Jerome Powell is resolved. Trump’s DOJ is currently investigating the Federal Reserve’s <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/building-project-faqs.htm">$2.5</a> billion renovations, which were approved by Powell.
When asked point-blank if he would turn over the investigation to the Senate Banking Committee in order to get Kevin Warsh approved for Fed Chair, Trump stood firm on letting the Department of Justice complete the investigation.

Trump Says New Fed Chair’s Office Might Be In the White House

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a scathing response to The Financial Times after the outlet published a story — which he labeled &#8220;explicitly false&#8221; — about his plans for the future of the Federal Reserve.
The <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9d1859f0-2f93-4ff1-8cfb-8046342bf9f7?syn-25a6b1a6=1">Financial Times</a> headline read, &#8220;Scott Bessent praised Bank of England as model for tighter oversight of Federal Reserve.&#8221; An X post promoting the piece followed the same general theme: &#8220;U.S. treasury secretary Scott Bessent discussed tightening the US Treasury’s oversight of the Federal Reserve by adopting elements of the Bank of England’s model.&#8221;
Bessent objected in a lengthy <a href="https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/2037337495575134643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2037337495575134643%7Ctwgr%5E267dcd7cc78786bcb565c54c2e581946497d7248%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fsamj%2F2026%2F03%2F27%2Fscott-bissent-financial-times-n2426503">X post</a> of his own, explaining that as recently as 2025, he had written a comprehensive (<a href="https://www.international-economy.com/TIE_Sp25_Bessent.pdf">6,000+ words</a>) analysis of potential reforms for the Federal Reserve, and that he had never adopted a stance supporting a move toward the Chancellor-Bank of England statute for the relationship between the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.
&#8220;By publishing this explicitly false story, the @FT has officially become tabloid trash for market participants,&#8221; Bessent began, noting that he had gone on the record denying the premise of the story. &#8220;Despite my direct, on-the-record denial of ever having advocated, explored, or espoused the idea that Chancellor-Bank of England statute serving as a prototype for a Treasury-Federal Reserve relationship, FT journalists manufactured a story with the headline, &#8216;Scott Bessent praised Bank of England as model for tighter oversight of the Federal Reserve.'&#8221;
&#8220;These pathetic journalists have clearly fabricated a story to give the impression that both I and the Trump Administration are setting &#8216;about restructuring the relationship … at a time when President Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented assault on the world’s most important central bank,'&#8221; Bessent continued, referring to the story as a &#8220;mendacious assertion&#8221; backed only by anonymous &#8220;financial industry executives.&#8221;
&#8220;In short, FT has literally manufactured an entirely fake policy position for me and the Administration,&#8221; Bessent said. He went on to say that he didn&#8217;t understand why The Financial Times would go ahead with such a story — which he said could only further damage their credibility as journalists — unless their sole priority was to paint a picture of discord and division in President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration.
&#8220;Over the past 10 years, I have written more than 20,000 words opining on the Federal Reserve decisions, personnel, structure, and modifications. Nowhere have I ever mentioned this ridiculous notion,&#8221; Bessent added. &#8220;The Governor’s letters to the Chancellor have proven to be a useless and perfunctory device. There is much to be said about the storied Bank of England, but any recreation of its operating framework on this side of the Atlantic has never been contemplated.&#8221;
Bessent concluded with one last shot at The Financial Times, saying, &#8220;The shameful journalists and editors at the FT are shocking in their meretriciousness, lack of standards, and general intellectual libertinism. It is the worst tradition of Fleet Street to manufacture news rather than report on it. They have brought irredeemable shame to their parent organization, Nikkei Inc., with whom I had previously held excellent relations.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.international-economy.com/TIE_Sp25_Bessent.pdf">Bessent&#8217;s argument</a> for change in the Federal Reserve had more to do with reining in &#8220;institutional bloat&#8221; and the &#8220;overuse of nonstandard policies&#8221; created to address specific issues.
&#8220;As we saw during the covid pandemic, when lab-created experiments escape their confines, they can wreak havoc in the real world. Once released, they cannot easily be put back into the containment zone,&#8221; Bessent explained. &#8220;The &#8216;extraordinary&#8217; monetary policy tools unleashed after the 2008 financial crisis have similarly transformed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy regime, with unpredictable consequences.&#8221;

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

‘Tabloid Trash’: Scott Bessent Issues Scathing Response To Media Story On Plans For The Fed

'Tabloid Trash': Scott Bessent Issues Scathing Response To Financial Times Story On Plans For Fed

Media

Scott Bessent

Treasury Department

WASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve this week held interest rates steady, a shock to observers who assumed geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices may have moved the board to cut rates.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed in a Wednesday briefing that the board was holding steady as events in the Middle East played out.
“In the near term, higher energy prices will push up overall inflation,” Powell said, “but it is too soon to know the scope and duration of the potential effects on the economy.”
Fed Governor Stephen Miran, a Trump appointee, dissented from the decision, favoring a rate cut rather than maintaining the current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. 
“The thing I really want to emphasize is that nobody knows,&#8221; Powell added. &#8220;The economic effects could be bigger, they could be smaller or they could be much smaller or much bigger. We just don’t know.”
Stressing the unusually high level of uncertainty facing policymakers became a theme of Powell’s press briefing. 
Powell said the Federal Reserve is guided by past oil price spikes, which have typically been temporary and had little lasting impact on inflation. However, after five years of inflation running above its 2% target, he added that the Fed remains vigilant for signs of more persistent price pressures.
He also noted that the United States’ position as a net energy exporter could help offset some negative impacts. Higher oil prices may weigh on consumers worldwide, but they also boost profitability for domestic energy companies, potentially leading to increased drilling and investment. Over the longer term, sustained elevated oil prices could drive further expansion in domestic energy production, as firms respond to stronger incentives to increase supply.
One moment of certainty was the continued pattern of the Federal Reserve fighting persistent inflation and a weakening labor market.
Since September, Powell has emphasized the challenge of balancing the Fed’s dual mandate which is maintaining price stability while maximizing employment. “We are balancing these two goals in a situation where the risks to the labor market are to the downside which would call for lower rates and the risks to inflation are to the upside which would call for higher rates and not cutting.” Ultimately, the Federal Reserve chose to leave rates unchanged in an effort to balance these competing pressures.
Powell’s March meeting marked his second-to-last as Fed chair before his successor, Kevin Warsh, is sworn in. Powell confirmed that he will serve out the remainder of his term until Warsh is officially confirmed as chair.

FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a press conference in Washington

Powell Urges Patience As Fed Holds Rates Steady Amid Iran Conflict

Economy

The Federal Reserve got it wrong again.
By refusing to cut rates yesterday, the Fed showed that it is still fighting yesterday’s inflation while ignoring today’s economy. The Federal Open Market Committee left its target range unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%. It also didn’t change the rate it pays on nearly $3 trillion of bank reserves, a disincentive for bank lending. Moreover, the difference between short-term interest rates on Treasury securities and long-term ones is ridiculously narrow. The one-month Treasury bill rate is about 3.7%. Given that the ten-year Treasury bond is yielding around 4.25%, that Treasury bill rate should be little more than 2 1/2%.
The Fed mistakenly believes prosperity causes inflation. By those misguided lights, our central bank should be cutting rates.
The labor market is plainly softer: February payrolls fell by 92,000. Fourth-quarter 2025 GDP was just revised down to a weak 0.7% annual rate. Those are not numbers that justify monetary paralysis. They are numbers that argue for relief.
Yet Jerome Powell persists in presenting this stance as prudence. It is not prudence. It is institutional vanity masquerading as caution. Powell said that the current stance of policy is “appropriate,” and he again leaned on vague uncertainty tied to developments in the Middle East. Central banking is supposed to be about weighing actual monetary conditions, not using every geopolitical tremor as an excuse for inaction. Monetary policy cannot prevent wars, but it can certainly make an already slowing economy weaker by keeping the price credit too high for too long. 
Worse, Powell’s comments about remaining in office as “chair pro tem” if no successor is confirmed were the most revealing part of the day. By saying he would stay on beyond the end of his current term if necessary, Powell projected exactly the wrong message: that the office belongs to him until the political system catches up. It does not. The Federal Reserve chairmanship is not a hereditary title, not a lifetime appointment, and certainly not a perch from which one signals permanence during a period of policy failure. Reuters reported <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/feds-powell-says-hell-stay-fed-leader-until-successor-confirmed-2026-03-18/">yesterday</a> that Powell said he would remain as Fed leader until a successor is confirmed. That may be legally arguable. It is politically tone-deaf and economically reckless.
The real issue is not just style. It is substance. High rates are not costless. They punish homebuyers, freeze housing activity, discourage business expansion, and increase the financing burden across the economy. Powell himself acknowledged yesterday that housing remains weak and that job gains have remained low. January retail sales were down 0.2%, hires in the JOLTS report were stuck at 5.3 million, and quits remained subdued at 3.1 million. The Fed has an institutional bias against vigorous economic growth. But even by its perverted lights, those numbers don’t convey a booming economy screaming for restraint. That is a country telling the Fed, in plain English, that the price of borrowing money is too high.
This is the chronic disease of modern central banking: officials are always late. They were late to recognize inflation when easy money was flooding the system, and now they are late to recognize disinflation as growth fades. Instead of admitting that policy works with long lags, the Fed clings to a backward-looking obsession with proving its anti-inflation credentials. It is as though Powell is determined to be remembered as “tough,” even if that means being wrong.
America does not need theatrical sternness from the Eccles Building. It needs sound money and common sense. Inflation has come down. Growth has slowed sharply. Employment has weakened. Credit-sensitive sectors are under strain. The right move was not another pose of caution. It was a rate cut.
The Fed missed the moment. Again.
And Powell’s insinuation that he may simply remain in place until Washington resolves his succession only adds arrogance to error. The central bank needs humility, not self-importance; discipline, not drift; and above all, leadership that understands that keeping rates too high for too long is every bit as damaging as holding them too low for too long.
* * *
Steve Forbes is Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The Fed Missed The Moment. Again.

Forbes

Bitcoin plunged on Thursday, its decline accelerating amid weakening risk sentiment driven in part by volatility in precious metals and a broad selloff in tech shares.
The world&#8217;s largest cryptocurrency fell to a low of $66,675.12, its weakest since October 2024, a month before President Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, having signaled his intention to support crypto on the campaign trail. It was last down 6.5% at $67,817.
All told, the global crypto market has lost $2 trillion in value since hitting a peak of $4.379 trillion in early October, CoinGecko data showed, with some $800 billion wiped out in the last month alone.
Bitcoin has already fallen 11% for the week, taking its losses for the year so far to 23%. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, was down more than 7% at $1,973 on Thursday. Ether has fallen nearly 14% this week, with losses of roughly 34% so far this year.
Sentiment on crypto was affected by the latest selling in metals and stocks. Gold and silver, for instance, have become more volatile as a result of leveraged buying and speculative flows. Silver, for one, fell as much as 16.6% to a low of $73.41.
In equities, the S&amp;P 500 slid to near two-week lows, and the Nasdaq sank to its lowest level in more than two months on Thursday, as the AI theme came under renewed pressure.
&#8220;It&#8217;s clear the crypto market is now in full capitulation mode,&#8221; said Nic Puckrin, investment analyst and co-founder of Coin Bureau. &#8220;If previous cycles are anything to go by, this is no longer a short-term correction, but rather a transition from distribution to reset &#8211; and these typically take months, not weeks.&#8221;
The latest crypto tumble has knocked down shares of companies holding bitcoin and other digital assets, stoking worries that the market turmoil is spreading beyond token prices.
Trump&#8217;s selection of Kevin Warsh as his pick to become the next Federal Reserve chair has also affected the price of cryptocurrencies, due to expectations that he could shrink the Fed&#8217;s balance sheet.
Cryptocurrencies have widely been regarded as beneficiaries of a large balance sheet, having tended to rally while the Fed greased money markets with liquidity — a support for speculative assets.
&#8220;The market fears a hawk with him,&#8221; said Manuel Villegas Franceschi from the next generation research team at Julius Baer. &#8220;A smaller balance sheet is not going to provide any tailwinds for crypto.&#8221;
To be sure, cryptocurrencies have struggled for months since a record crash last October sent bitcoin tumbling from a peak as leveraged positions got washed out. That has left investors less keen on digital assets, and sentiment toward the industry fragile.
&#8220;We believe this broader decline is mainly driven by massive withdrawals from institutional ETFs (exchange-traded funds). These funds have seen billions of dollars flow out each month since the October 2025 downturn,&#8221; Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note to clients.
They added that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs witnessed outflows of more than $3 billion in January, following outflows of about $2 billion and $7 billion in December and November, respectively.
&#8220;This steady selling in our view signals that traditional investors are losing interest, and overall pessimism about crypto is growing,&#8221; the analysts said.
Bitcoin&#8217;s fortunes have been tied to the broader tech sector for some time. The price tended to rise, particularly on the back of investor enthusiasm over artificial intelligence.
This week&#8217;s rout in global software stocks has accelerated the slide in the value of bitcoin, ether, and other tokens.
Market watchers are starting to question if this decline marks the start of a steeper correction.
&#8220;Concerns are being raised around the crypto miners and whether we could be looking at forced liquidations if prices continue to fall, which could lead to a vicious cycle,&#8221; Jefferies strategist Mohit Kumar said in a note.
&#8220;Our view on crypto has always been that it should be never more than a very small portion of the overall portfolio. However, it is also an asset class that is heavily owned, particularly by retail investors, and hence adds to the overall market risk,&#8221; Kumar said.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York, Rae Wee in Singapore, and Amanda Cooper in London; Additional reporting by Lucy Raitano in London; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Joe Bavier, Will Dunham, and Jan Harvey)

Illustration shows representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin

Bitcoin Plummets, Driving $2 Trillion Slide In Crypto Market Value

Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Friday nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin M. Warsh to serve as the board&#8217;s next chairman.
Trump&#8217;s long-awaited <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-names-next-fed-chair-pick-he-will-never-let-you-down?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Names+Next+Fed+Chair+Pick%3A+%E2%80%98He+Will+Never+Let+You+Down%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> comes after months of the president vowing to replace outgoing chairman Jerome Powell. Warsh came as a bit of a surprise, as conventional wisdom had coalesced around three candidates: National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder, and Fed governor Christopher J. Waller.
In a Truth Social post, the president said that Warsh would &#8220;go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best.&#8221; Warsh will need Senate confirmation to take his post, though with a Republican majority in the Upper Chamber, it seems likely that he will soon take the reins at the Fed.
Warsh began his career on Wall Street as an investment banker for Morgan Stanley before joining the Bush administration as an economic adviser in 2002. President George W. Bush named him to the Federal Reserve Board in 2006, where, at 35, Warsh became the youngest governor in the Fed&#8217;s history.
Warsh played a key role during the 2008 financial crisis, helping coordinate the central bank’s response. He was involved in efforts surrounding the government rescue and bailout of AIG and the emergency deal that led JPMorgan Chase to acquire Bear Stearns as markets unraveled.
After leaving the Fed in 2011, Warsh joined the board of UPS and became a distinguished visiting fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution. Warsh met his wife, Jane Lauder, while they were undergraduates at Stanford University. Lauder is the daughter of Ronald Lauder, the heir of the Estée Lauder Companies and a close friend of President Trump. Lauder <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/15/ronald-lauder-billionaire-donor-donald-trump-ukraine-greenland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> gave Trump the idea to purchase Greenland.
Warsh has gained a reputation as a fiscal hawk. “The United States is not Greece,” Warsh <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/kevin20100628a.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a 2010 speech. “We have the largest, most robust economy in the world. We have the deepest, most liquid financial markets. And the dollar is the world&#8217;s reserve currency, bestowing key advantages upon us. But, none of this is our birthright. It must be earned, and re-earned.”
He warned the Fed’s post-crisis stimulus could spark inflation and argued against expanding quantitative easing, pushing for a tighter monetary stance and a smaller Fed balance sheet.
He has argued that decisions over which assets the central bank buys and holds influence market pricing in ways he believes are better left to the Treasury Department. Like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Warsh once worked for investor Stanley Druckenmiller, and has suggested that artificial intelligence could boost growth without reigniting inflation.
He has also drawn a firm line around the Federal Reserve’s role, stating, “The Federal Reserve is not a repair shop for broken fiscal, trade, or regulatory policies.”
Despite his reputation as a hawk, Warsh has recently argued for lower interest rates and sharply criticized Powell for moving too slowly.
“Their hesitancy to cut rates, I think, is actually quite a mark against them. It’s as if they’ve lost some of the credibility. Truth is, in economics and inflation, bygones are not bygones. The specter of the miss they made on inflation, it has stuck with them. So, one of the reasons why the president, I think, is right to be pushing the Fed publicly is we need regime change in the conduct of policy.”
Still, in December, the chief economist of Deutsche Bank <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/interest-rate-changes-could-be-on-the-way-under-kevin-warsh-trump-s-pick-for-fed-chair-11895919" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that “although Warsh has argued for lower rates recently, we do not view him as structurally dovish.&#8221;

Who is Kevin Warsh? Meet President Trump’s Pick To Chair The Federal Reserve

Greenland

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was nominating economist Kevin Warsh to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. 
Warsh, a critic of the current chair Jerome Powell, will need to be confirmed by the Senate. Trump has battled with Powell over interest rates and has even floated firing him. 
“I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to be the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best. On top of everything else, he is &#8216;central casting,&#8217; and he will never let you down. Congratulations Kevin!”
Warsh is currently an economist at the Hoover Institution, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a partner at the Duquesne Family Office investment firm.
He was previously an economic policy advisor to President George W. Bush. He became the youngest Fed governor ever at 35 when he was nominated to the board of governors in 2006, a role he served in until 2011.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/the-long-campaign-of-kevin-warsh-e5bd26d6?siteid=yhoof2&amp;gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqdRm4kYWggpj1R8e-KL3-W5GGSrzrk8qvYRGFi75VF3a2FY2TDC4cc4OLjNu40%3D&amp;gaa_ts=697ca692&amp;gaa_sig=Kknzr6M6zFvuYJQa1uZKanpbHXZdkVYTZ_KmKd3E2YI43hUqQsdYQY9i8O-plIHPTtP1BAdEV3IAHER_y7HSZA%3D%3D">reported</a> that Warsh played a “crucial behind-the-scenes roles in Washington’s rescue of Wall Street during the financial crisis&#8221; of 2008.
If confirmed, Warsh would take over from Powell when his term as chair ends in May. Trump again <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115978487020569325">ripped</a> into Powell on Thursday for not cutting interest rates, accusing him of damaging the economy and undermining national security. 
Trump on Friday commented on speculation that he would nominate National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. 
“There was great speculation that highly respected Kevin Hassett was going to be named Chairman of the Fed, and a great Chairman he would have been but, quite honestly, he is doing such an outstanding job working with me and my team at the White House, that I just didn’t want to let him go,” Trump wrote soon after announcing the Warsh pick. “Kevin is indescribably good so, as the expression goes, ‘if you can’t do better, don’t try to fix it!’ Thank you Kevin for doing such a great job!”
Trump has battled with the Federal Reserve throughout much of his second term. Earlier this month, the Justice Department launched a criminal probe into Powell over statements he made to the Senate about a costly renovation of the Federal Reserve. The Supreme Court is also considering whether Trump has the authority to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook.

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