Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers remarks at his swearing-in ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
The news media and some market participants aren’t happy with Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s refusal to give up much in the way of forward guidance on what his Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will do at its next meeting.
Warsh’s logic for the discontinuance of guidance makes sense. In a market economy, as the United States purports itself to be, the market should be a valuable source of information on what’s happening with interest rates, not simply an echo chamber of telegraphed future Fed policy.
Into the vacuum of information from the Fed have stepped proponents of every course of action. Bloomberg reports that both Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack have made calls for higher rates given the uncertainty regarding the war with Iran, and cite strong employment numbers to justify their positions.
Meanwhile, President Trump recently told reporters that “Rates should be lowered… We have other countries that are paying less interest rates. We should have the lowest rate in the world. Kevin is fantastic, but he’s got a board, and the board members are very political.”
Warsh himself discussed his new communications strategy during recent testimony before Congress, saying, “We want to get policy right, and I think being somewhat more circumspect in our communications, at least for me, is a better way of calling balls and strikes.”
On inflation, Warsh sounded committed to ending it, as he has in all his public statements. He told Congress, “Inflation’s a choice. We monetary policymakers need to choose lower prices, and that’s the commitment my colleagues have made.” Whether or not Warsh believes that a rate hike, hold, or cut will do the trick is his secret to keep.
For its part, the market has factored in a quarter-point rate hike by the September meeting of the FOMC. That outcome may not make President Trump or mortgage borrowers happy, but the many Americans stressed out by rising prices may feel it to be necessary. Until the meeting, though, Warsh will likely be giving markets the silent treatment.