Kevin Warsh, the Wall Street banker whom President Trump made head of the Federal Reserve in order to lower interest rates, has just made it abundantly clear that he intends to raise interest rates. In remarks to central bankers at an ECB conference in Sintra, Warsh promised he would maintain the Fed’s “independence” in the face of political pressure, such as that coming from Trump. “We’ve been an independent central bank for a very long time, we’re going to be an independent central bank at this moment, and you’re going to see no changes on that,” he stated. In a press conference last month, Warsh had issued an “unambiguous and unanimous” vow that the Fed would prioritize stopping inflation, which he said was a “burden for the American people.” That’s banker language for raising interest rates.
The Financial Times reported that “traders are now betting that rates could be hiked as soon as October, having previously predicted March 2027…. Warsh declined to comment on this week’s Supreme Court ruling preventing Trump from sacking Fed governor Lisa Cook [who opposes lower rates—ed.] and demurred when asked whether the bank could raise rates when it meets later this month.”
