Trump Has Been Repeatedly Calling Fed Chair Kevin Warsh Since His May Swearing In

Donald Trump spent his first term and much of his second attacking Jerome Powell as a political enemy who wouldn't cut rates fast enough. Now Powell is gone. Kevin Warsh is Fed chairman. And Trump has reportedly been calling him. Repeatedly.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Trump has "spoken repeatedly" with Warsh since Warsh's swearing-in on May 22, 2026, according to CNBC's reporting on that story. Fed calendars show Trump met with Powell directly only once during this second term before Warsh took over, plus one awkward joint tour of a Fed construction site. The contrast is stark: months of near-silence with Powell, followed by a chairman Trump calls "fantastic and brilliant" who apparently picks up the phone.

The White House isn't denying any of it. Spokesman Kush Desai told CNBC that "President Trump has repeatedly stressed that he is giving Chairman Warsh the space he needs to restore confidence and competence in Fed decision-making," and said Trump respects Warsh's independence. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went further, publicly attacking a Wall Street Journal reporter's coverage of the Fed on social media the day before that paper's story on the Trump-Warsh calls ran, according to CNBC.

The Fed itself declined to comment on the report. Warsh has told the Senate he's comfortable fielding calls from just about anyone, including "the chairman of" — CNBC's excerpt of his testimony cuts off there, but the gist is he doesn't see picking up the phone as a problem.

What the calls are actually about is unclear

According to reporting relayed by outlets including CNN, the Trump-Warsh conversations reportedly cover the economic fallout from the Iran conflict and developments in artificial intelligence. No confirmed discussions of monetary policy specifics have surfaced in that reporting. Warsh hasn't changed the interest rates he inherited from Powell.

Talking to the president about AI investment trends or geopolitical shocks isn't the same as taking instructions on where to set the federal funds rate. There's no law that says a Fed chairman can't talk to a president. Direct evidence that Warsh has bent policy to Trump's wishes doesn't exist in the reporting available.

But the concern isn't really about a single phone call. It's about pattern and perception. Fed independence exists precisely so that politicians facing reelection pressure can't lean on the people who control the cost of borrowing for the whole country. If markets believe the Fed chair is taking cues from the White House, they price that risk into bonds regardless of whether an actual order was given.

Warsh's own record raises separate questions

During his confirmation, Warsh disclosed personal investments in more than 30 crypto-related projects, with total assets estimated between $131 million and more than $209 million, according to reporting cited by Crypto Briefing. Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. should have "the lowest interest rates in the world" and has accused other Fed board members of making politically motivated decisions.

In congressional testimony in July 2026, Warsh pledged what he called a regime change in Fed policy to fight inflation, while other board members reportedly pushed back against aggressive easing. If Warsh does move toward rate cuts, it would be good news for a Fed chair who has personal crypto holdings that tend to rally on looser monetary policy. A conflict-of-interest question remains unresolved by any independent review named in current reporting.

The market already reacted once

The Guardian's account of Warsh's most recent press conference, following a split Federal Open Market Committee decision not to raise rates despite inflation running at roughly double the Fed's 2% target, describes a chairman content to let markets do the Fed's job for it. Warsh said rising long-term bond yields had "provided us some comfort," and credited the market's own tightening rather than any Fed action, saying "we haven't done much in 42 days."

Markets didn't take that well, per the Guardian. Bond prices fell, long-term rates spiked, with 30-year Treasury yields hitting their highest level in 19 years, and stocks dropped. The Guardian frames this as Warsh outsourcing monetary policy to financial markets rather than exercising the Fed's traditional authority, a critique aimed squarely at Warsh's approach and not proof of coordination with Trump.

What's proven versus what's alleged

What's established: Trump and Warsh have talked repeatedly since May, the White House confirms it, and Trump's rhetoric toward Warsh is dramatically warmer than it ever was toward Powell. What's alleged but unproven: that these calls have influenced or will influence actual rate decisions. Warsh hasn't cut rates yet, and no source here shows a direct instruction from Trump translating into Fed action.

The system's design makes this hard to verify either way. There's no legal requirement that these calls be disclosed, logged, or reviewed by anyone. That opacity cuts both directions. It means there's no proof of wrongdoing, but also no way for the public to rule it out. Whether Warsh's upcoming votes, his handling of the next inflation report, and any movement on his crypto holdings once in office end up validating Trump's confidence or confirming critics' fears is still an open question. The next FOMC meeting and Warsh's public statements around it will be the real test.