Who is Kevin Warsh?

The Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

Politics, Government, Daily News, News

3.9 • 699 Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2026

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kevin Warsh, who President Donald Trump announced last week as his pick to become the next Federal Reserve chair, has an extensive background that has earned the respect of the financial world. He worked at Morgan Stanley, was a member of the Bush White House and is a Fed alum. He has spoken forcefully about the importance of the Fed’s independence. But Trump has said that he wants loyalty. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns discuss how Warsh’s past might be in conflict with his future post. Plus, the government is reopened — with a new shutdown countdown clock already ticking away.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Health plans welcome reforms to strengthen Medicare Advantage.
0:03.5	However, a proposal for flat program funding at a time of sharply rising medical costs
0:08.4	and high utilization of care will directly impact seniors' coverage.
0:12.3	If finalized, this proposal could result in benefit reductions and higher costs for 35 million
0:17.6	seniors and people with disabilities when they renew their Medicare Advantage
0:21.3	coverage in October 26. Learn more at AHIP.org.
0:31.8	Today on the Playbook podcast, it's Jerome Powell's birthday, but we'll be discussing a successor, maybe Kevin Walsh and
0:39.9	the future of the Fed. Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance are teaming up to take on China. Will they take on
0:45.2	each other in 2028? And the government has reopened. And we've got nine more days to prevent
0:51.3	another shutdown. Hello, I'm Jack Blanchard. And I'm Dasha Burns. It is
0:56.4	Wednesday, February 4th. It is Jay Powell's birthday, Dasha. We do birthday shoutouts.
1:02.6	Not be birthday, Mr. Powell. I feel like he's had a tricky 73rd year. It hasn't been all smooth
1:08.4	sailing the past 12 months for Jerome Powell. Probably didn't
1:11.0	expect it to be quite as messy as it has been. Yeah, this lap around the sun has probably
1:15.7	been one of the more complicated journeys. Exactly. Obviously, still has that criminal case
1:21.3	hanging over him or investigation hanging over him. But we want to talk about the man Donald Trump
1:26.3	has picked to succeed him as the Fed chair,
1:28.9	Kevin Walsh, because we have this great new profile out on the Politico website this morning by
1:33.0	our ace colleagues, Victoria Geida and Ian Ward, looking at Kevin Walsh in a lot of detail
1:38.1	and looking at like, is he going to be the guy that Trump actually wants in this job?
1:43.1	Is he going to do the job that Trump actually wants? this job? Is he going to do the job that Trump
1:44.6	actually wants? Or are we going to see another falling out in the way that we have this time?
	...

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