The U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Kevin Warsh to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (14-year term) on the 12th (local time). This marks a significant step towards the final vote on Warsh, whom President Donald Trump has nominated as the next chairman of the central bank.

The vote passed with 51 yeas and 45 nays, largely along party lines, with only Senator John Fetterman (Democrat-Pennsylvania) voting in favor alongside Republicans.

Previously, the Senate had approved the nomination of Kevin Warsh as a candidate for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on the evening of the 11th (Monday) with a vote of 49 to 44. At that time, Senators John Fetterman and Chris Coons (Democrat-Delaware) had voted in favor along with Republican senators.

This move follows Senator Tom Tillis's (Republican-North Carolina) decision last month to drop his opposition to Warsh's nomination as Powell's successor, after the Department of Justice halted its investigation into current Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Department of Justice had been investigating whether Powell had misrepresented the costs of renovating the Fed's headquarters in his congressional testimony.

A separate Senate vote will be required for Warsh's appointment as Fed Chairman for a four-year term, and this vote is expected as early as Wednesday, according to Politico.

Meanwhile, the second four-year term of current Chairman Jerome Powell ends on the 15th (Friday), and he will remain a Fed governor until 2028.

Candidate Warsh has argued that temporary shocks, such as recent tariffs or rising oil prices, are manageable for central banks, and that current inflation trends are generally positive. He also suggested that productivity gains from the adoption of artificial intelligence could lead to deflationary effects, enabling policymakers to lower interest rates.

However, Wall Street investors are placing more weight on the surge in inflation due to the war with Iran. According to the FedWatch tool from CME Group, market participants see less than a 3% chance of a 0.25% point interest rate cut by the end of the year.

President Trump has been urging the Fed for swift and aggressive interest rate cuts, which has met with backlash for threatening the Fed's independence.

By Sung Ku Hong, Chief Reporter of NNP / Special Correspondent for this publication NNP info@newsandpost.com