Trump Fed chair pick Kevin Warsh confirmed by Senate

Donald Trump's Federal Reserve chair has been confirmed by the US Senate in a vote that fell largely along party lines. Kevin Warsh won confirmation on Wednesday with 54 votes in favour and 45 against. He will succeed Jerome Powell, whose tenure featured multiple clashes with the US president over interest rates. His term ends on Friday. Warsh's confirmation was the narrowest margin for the Senate approval of a Fed chair since the process was implemented in 1977. Only one Democrat, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, voted in favour to confirm Warsh. Warsh is facing a difficult balancing act when he steps into the role, with President Trump having made clear he expects his pick to lower the Fed's interest rate at a time when the US-Israel war in Iran is driving up the cost of living. Usually, the central bank would seek to hold or raise interest rates when inflation is on the rise, to keep a lid on price increases. Indeed, following Tuesday's inflation figures, which showed prices rising at 3.8% annually in April, the fastest rate since May 2023, most economists now expect rates to be held until next year - with some even warning of a rise. The rise in inflation has been driven la