Condoleezza Rice, who served as U.S. Secretary of State during the George W. Bush administration, voiced her approval of President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to serve as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve. (Note: Fed Chair Jay Powell‘s term will end on May 15; his term as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors runs until January 31, 2028.)
Rice wrote: “Congratulations to my close friend and trusted colleague of many years at Hoover on being nominated as the next Fed Chair. Kevin is a dedicated public servant with the intellect, experience, and judgment to lead the Federal Reserve. He understands the central bank’s key role for the United States and our allies around the world. We will benefit from his steady, principled leadership.”
Note: Warsh is currently the Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Economics at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where Rice is Director (since 2000).
Congratulations to my close friend and trusted colleague of many years at Hoover on being nominated as the next Fed Chair. Kevin is a dedicated public servant with the intellect, experience, and judgment to lead the Federal Reserve. He understands the central bank’s key role for…
— Condoleezza Rice (@CondoleezzaRice) January 30, 2026
Political pundit Tim Miller, who served as the communications director for Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign, responded to Trump’s nomination by noting that Warsh is the son-in-law of billionaire Ronald Lauder, heir to global cosmetics brand Estée Lauder.
Miller wrote: “Kevin Warsh’s father-in-law is Ron Lauder, the billionaire behind the Greenland plot who is also doing a Lithium deal with a US govt backed partner in Ukraine. Epstein claimed they were friends in his emails. Concerning conflict of interest for the ‘independent’ fed chair.”
Kevin Warsh’s father-in-law is Ron Lauder, the billionaire behind the Greenland plot who is also doing a Lithium deal with a US govt backed partner in Ukraine. Epstein claimed they were friends in his emails.
Concerning conflict of interest for the “independent” fed chair.
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) January 30, 2026
As reported in the book ‘The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021’, Lauder first suggested to Trump that the U.S. buy Greenland in 2018. According to the Guardian this week, since Trump’s return to the White House, Lauder leapt to the defense of Trump “when the president publicly contemplated a military takeover of the world’s largest island.”
In an op-ed in The New York Post in February 2025, Lauder wrote: “Beneath its ice and rock lies a treasure trove of rare-earth elements essential for AI, advanced weaponry and modern technology. As ice recedes, new maritime routes are emerging, reshaping global trade and security.” He added, “I have worked closely with Greenland’s business and government leaders for years to develop strategic investments there.”
Trump listed Warsh’s qualifications at length in a Truth Social post announcing his choice, adding a coda that Warsh looked right for the part — or in Trump’s language, that Warsh “is central casting.”
Criticizing Trump’s choice, liberal economist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman characterized Warsh’s Stanford and Hoover associations as cloaks obscuring what Warsh really is — a “political animal,” in Krugman’s view, not the “principled” figure Rice praises.
Krugman wrote of Warsh: “He calls for tight money and opposes any attempt to boost the economy when Democrats hold the White House. Like all Trumpers, he has been all for lower interest rates since November 2024.”
Taking a view far closer to Rice’s, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has agreed with Trump on very little lately, wrote: “Kevin Warsh is a fantastic choice to lead the world’s most important central bank at this crucial time.” (NOTE: Carney studied economics at both Harvard and Oxford, earning a doctorate, and was the Governor of the Bank of Canada overseeing Canadian monetary policy during the 2008 global financial crisis.)
Kevin Warsh is a fantastic choice to lead the world’s most important central bank at this crucial time.
Kevin Warsh est le meilleur choix pour diriger la banque centrale la plus importante au monde en ce moment charnière. https://t.co/jmVDNNOFbS— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) January 30, 2026