The Federal Reserve (the Fed, the central bank of the United States) has decided to keep interest rates unchanged, despite the rising cost of living in recent months, the agency reported in a statement released this Wednesday. The meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC, the internal body that makes monetary policy decisions) held between Tuesday and Wednesday was the first chaired by Kevin Warsh, who has aligned himself only partially with the requests of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who since his return to the White House had demanded a cut in the price of money to boost economic growth.

The increase in gasoline prices has led inflation in the United States to reach its highest level in three years. According to data published this Wednesday by the Department of Labor, prices in the US rose by 4.2% last May compared to the same month last year.

US President Donald Trump has announced his pick to be the next chairman of the board of governors of the country's central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed): Kevin Warsh, a 55-year-old Republican who served on the Fed's board from 2006 to 2011. Warsh, a frequent critic of the current Fed, will now have the opportunity to implement his idea of ​​"regime change" in monetary policy at a time when Trump has been pushing for greater control over the central bank. "I've known Kevin for a long time and I have no doubt that he will go down in history as one of the great Fed chairman(s), maybe the best. He's also a relevant figure who will never let you down," Trump said in announcing his latest move to leave his mark on the Fed, which he criticizes from the bottom up. The position requires confirmation by the US Senate. Given Trump's strained relationship with current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he has sought to remove from the outset and whose term ends next May, one of Warsh's tasks, given his ties to the Republican Party, will be to avoid any perception of a lack of independence. An economist and lawyer with degrees from Stanford and Harvard Universities, Warsh accepted a position in 1995 in the mergers and acquisitions department of Morgan Stanley in New York. In 2002, he left his position as vice president and CEO at Morgan Stanley to join the administration of President George W. Bush, where he served as special assistant to the president for economic policy and as executive secretary of the National Economic Council. The future Fed chairman advised Bush and his administration on matters related to the US economy. He was also a member of the president's task force on financial markets. In 2006, Bush appointed him to the Board of Governors. During his tenure, Warsh served as the Board's representative to the Group of Twenty (G-20), as well as an envoy to emerging and advanced Asian economies. While at the Fed, he experienced the 2008 global financial crisis and worked as a liaison between the Fed and Wall Street. Warsh participated in the rescue and stabilization negotiations for the banks and the financial sector affected by the subprime mortgage crisis. subprimeHis time at the Fed solidified his expertise in monetary policy, financial markets, and situations of high uncertainty. After leaving the central bank, Warsh combined teaching and research with roles in the private sector. visiting fellow Warsh is a distinguished visiting professor at the Hoover Institution and Stanford Graduate School of Business, while also serving on the boards of global companies and international economic organizations. This hybrid profile places him at the intersection of politics, academia, and finance—a valued characteristic for leading the Fed in uncertain times.