Original author: Karen, Foresight News
On November 12, Beijing time, the Wall Street Journal quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that US President-elect Trump is considering appointing former Federal Reserve Board member Kevin Warsh as Treasury Secretary. The news also revealed that Kevin Warsh may be nominated as Federal Reserve Chairman after the current Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powells term ends in 2026.
Some people familiar with the matter said Trump is considering appointing Scott Bessent to lead the White House Economic Council and will nominate Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary later in his term if Kevin Warsh becomes Federal Reserve Chairman.
On Polymarket, in the prediction market for Who will Trump choose as Treasury Secretary?, Kevin Warshs chances of winning have risen to 52%, while Scott Bessents is 29%.
The Wall Street Journal cited a person familiar with the matter as saying that during the meeting on Wednesday, Trump also asked Kevin Warsh about his past positions on tariffs. Kevin Warsh has previously criticized trade protectionism policies. In an article published in the Wall Street Journal in 2018, he said that Trumps tariff plan could lead to so-called economic isolationism in the United States, which would cause great harm to economic growth prospects.
In fact, Kevin Warsh, who was considered as a candidate for the leadership of the Federal Reserve during Trumps first term, has once again entered Trumps vision as a potential candidate for Treasury Secretary and may succeed Powell as Fed Chairman in the future. This move may not only have a profound impact on US economic policies, but may also trigger a series of fluctuations in financial markets and even in the field of cryptocurrency.
Who is Kevin Warsh?
Kevin Warsh was born in Albany, New York, USA in 1970. He studied public policy at Stanford University, focusing on economics and statistics, and received a bachelors degree with honors in 1992. Kevin Warsh then entered Harvard Law School for further studies, focusing on the intersection of law, economics and regulatory policy, and received a law degree in 1995. In addition, he completed courses on market economics and debt capital markets at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management.
Kevin Warsh joined Morgan Stanley Co. in New York in 1995 in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department, where he served as financial advisor to a variety of companies in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, basic materials, professional services and technology. In addition, he helped structure capital markets transactions and facilitated fixed income and equity financings.
In February 2002, Kevin Warsh resigned from his position as Vice President and Executive Director of Morgan Stanley to join the George W. Bush Administration. He served as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Executive Secretary of the National Economic Council. Kevin Warsh advises the President and senior administration officials on issues related to the U.S. economy, particularly in the areas of capital market flows, securities, banking, and insurance.
During this time, he was also a member of the Presidents Working Group on Financial Markets. In 2006, President Bush nominated Kevin Warsh to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board (which he served until 2011). At the time, Kevin Warsh was only 35 years old and was the youngest member of the Federal Reserve Board.
Kevin Warsh is currently a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a lecturer at the schools business school.
It is worth mentioning that Kevin Warshs father-in-law Ronald Lauder has been a close friend of Trump for decades and the heir to the cosmetics giant Estee Lauder, Politico reported in 2017. Trump even collaborated with Estee Lauder in 2004 to launch a cologne called Donald Trump Perfume.
What was Kevin Warshs previous position on economic and financial policy?
As mentioned above, Kevin Warsh is an expert with extensive experience and deep background in finance and public policy. His career covers a wide range of fields from academia, finance to government. What was Kevin Warshs previous position in the field of economics and financial policy?
In terms of monetary policy stance, Kevin Warsh has criticized the Feds long-term quantitative easing policy. He believes that this policy may lead to an overly loose monetary environment, which in turn may trigger inflation or financial market bubbles. Kevin Warsh also advocates that the Fed should maintain the independence of its policies and should not be influenced by political pressure, which is in contrast to Trumps practice of exerting influence on the Fed.
In terms of economic growth and trade policy, Kevin Warsh has always been an advocate of free trade, emphasizing the importance of free trade as the glue connecting the global economy and believing that free trade is crucial to economic growth and global economic stability.
In addition, Kevin Warsh also advocates controlling fiscal spending and opposes a substantial increase in the debt burden, believing that this may have a negative impact on US economic growth.
What is Kevin Warshs connection with Crypto?
Kevin Warsh is cautious about the volatility of Bitcoin and most stablecoins, but is open to wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). As early as 2018, Warsh said , If cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are indeed the future of money, then central banks around the world need to get involved. If he returns to the Fed, he will appoint a team to consider creating Fedcoin.
In March of the same year, Kevin Warsh wrote in a commentary in the Wall Street Journal that the price volatility of cryptocurrencies has greatly weakened their practicality as a reliable unit of account or an effective means of payment. But a new generation of cryptocurrencies is about to emerge, some of which may have more monetary attributes and better meet the purpose of Bitcoins creation.
Kevin Warsh has also invested in two Crypto companies or projects as an investor. In 2018, he invested in the algorithmic stablecoin project Basis (formerly Basecoin, now dissolved), and in 2021, he invested in the crypto index fund management company Bitwise. Among them, Basis completed $133 million in financing at the time, and investors included Bain Capital Ventures, GV, Stanley Druckenmiller, Kevin Warsh, Lightspeed, Foundation Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, etc. Kevin Warsh is still listed in the list of consultants and investors on the Bitwise website .
In November 2022, Kevin Warsh published an article titled Money Matters: The US Dollar, Cryptocurrency, and the National Interest , in which he believes that cryptocurrency is not mysterious, it is not money, but software. The emergence of stablecoins makes this revolutionary new software more like money. By improving operational efficiency, a small number of stablecoins may become of great value. However, most stablecoins will be worthless. The Federal Reserve should establish a wholesale digital currency that will improve the economic and political position of the United States while ensuring that volatility does not jeopardize the dominance of the dollar. The United States and its allies need a sound and stable currency more than ever to get out of a period of weak output, high inflation, and geopolitical confrontation. A narrow, resilient, and efficient digital dollar backed by the full trust and credit of the United States should be an important part of the reform of the U.S. financial and monetary architecture.
summary
Kevin Warshs potential appointment could have far-reaching implications for both U.S. economic policy and the financial markets and Crypto industry. Market participants and cryptocurrency enthusiasts need to pay close attention to his policy moves and possible regulatory changes.
If Kevin Warsh can influence Trumps trade policy, it may make the US trade policy more open and stable, which is beneficial to global trade and economic growth. And Kevin Warshs appointment may also bring confidence to investors, but there will also be concerns about whether his policies can be integrated with Trumps economic ideas.
refer to:
https://www.federalreservehistory.org/people/kevin-m-warsh
