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May 16, 2026 • 8:26 AM ET
The Federal Reserve Board officially named Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore on May 15, 2026, per the official Federal Reserve press release. Warsh has been confirmed by the Senate but has not yet been sworn in as of May 16. No official swearing-in date has been announced by the Fed or the White House.
The Federal Reserve named Jerome Powell chair pro tempore on May 15, 2026, after his term as chair concluded. Kevin Warsh was confirmed 54-45 on May 13 but has not yet been sworn in.
No swearing-in date has been officially announced. Powell leads the Fed in the interim. Warsh’s first FOMC meeting is June 16 to 17. Kevin Warsh is the confirmed next chair of the Federal Reserve.
He is not yet the actual chair. On May 15, 2026, the Federal Reserve Board named Jerome Powell chair pro tempore, an official institutional designation meaning Powell temporarily leads the Fed while Warsh’s swearing-in remains pending, per the Federal Reserve’s official statement.
As of May 16, no swearing-in date for Warsh has been announced by either the Federal Reserve or the White House. This distinction matters precisely because every rate decision, every internal meeting, and every official action taken at the Federal Reserve between now and Warsh’s swearing-in is executed under Powell’s temporary authority.
The Fed’s own press release confirms the arrangement follows historical precedent from prior chair transitions. The U.S. money movement system explains how the institutional continuity of Fed leadership connects to the FedACH settlement network that processes every American’s federal payments and deposits.
Why Warsh has not been sworn in yet and what the Fed’s statement reveals
The Federal Reserve’s May 15 statement uses precise institutional language: “the swearing in of Kevin M. Warsh as his successor pending.” The word “pending” indicates that the administrative process between Senate confirmation and the actual oath of office is not yet complete.
This process involves White House paperwork transmission to the Senate, Senate certification return to the White House, presidential commission signing, and finally the swearing-in ceremony itself, which is administered separately from the Senate confirmation vote.
Two Federal Reserve governors publicly declined to fully support the Powell pro tempore arrangement as structured. Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Stephen Miran stated they supported Powell’s temporary service but objected to the absence of a clearly defined time limit, per the Federal Reserve’s own statement from May 15.
Their objection reflects genuine institutional tension. The Senate has already confirmed Warsh. The only thing separating him from the chairmanship is the swearing-in ceremony, which has no publicly scheduled date.
Bowman and Miran’s statement read in part that the situation differs from prior transitions because the new chair has already been confirmed by the Senate, making the open-ended nature of the pro tempore designation procedurally unusual.
The Warsh June 16 rate hike impact article covers what happens at his first FOMC meeting. The FOMC minutes May 20 five signals analysis covers the intelligence document that drops four days before that meeting.
What the transition gap means for your money before June 16
The practical consequence of Warsh not yet being sworn in is that June 16 is becoming more important and more scrutinized by the day. Every week that passes without a swearing-in is a week where markets, savers, and mortgage holders have no confirmed chair actively managing the institution they interact with through their bank accounts, their CDs, and their mortgage rates.
The federal funds rate remains at 3.5% to 3.75%, confirmed at the April 29 FOMC meeting. No rate change is possible before June 16 regardless of who holds the chair title, because the FOMC only votes at scheduled meetings.
What changes with Warsh’s swearing-in is the institutional leadership identity of the Fed, which affects how markets interpret every public statement, every speech, and every word from the Board between now and June 16.
The how the Fed controls your savings and mortgage guide explains why the chair’s identity affects your financial products even between FOMC meetings through bond market expectations and bank pricing behavior. The June 16 FOMC meeting preview covers the rate decision Warsh will chair, confirmed or not, at that June meeting per the Federal Reserve calendar.
What happens next and what to watch
The swearing-in will happen before June 16. The FOMC meeting is a fixed date and requires an official chair. Warsh will be sworn in before that meeting. The question is when in the next 31 days.
When the swearing-in occurs, the Federal Reserve will issue a press release at federalreserve.gov and markets will respond within hours to any statements Warsh makes in his capacity as confirmed and sworn chair.
The May 20 FOMC minutes release at 2 PM ET, five days from now, will be the first major Fed document Warsh must respond to as the incoming chair.
Whether he is formally sworn in before May 20 determines whether his response carries the institutional authority of the chair or the informal weight of a chair-designate. That distinction moves bond yields.
What you should do now
- Monitor federalreserve.gov directly for the official swearing-in announcement, which will appear as a press release the moment it occurs.
- Watch the 10-year Treasury yield on the day of Warsh’s swearing-in. Bond markets will react within hours of the announcement.
- If you have a CD maturing before July 1, evaluate your renewal decision relative to the June 16 rate decision. The June 16 savings and CD guide covers every scenario.
- Note that Powell as chair pro tempore holds all institutional authority of the chair position, including presiding over any emergency Fed action between now and Warsh’s swearing-in.
