Fed “whistleblower”: After Democrats secure control of the Senate, Walsh will struggle to appoint allies and may have to work with existing governors.

On November 8, Nick Timiraos—chief economics correspondent for *The Wall Street Journal* and widely regarded as the “Fed’s mouthpiece”—wrote that Kevin Warsh’s influence over Trump’s next round of Federal Reserve appointments would become largely moot if the Democratic-controlled Senate refuses to confirm any new nominees. Historically, Fed chairs exert lasting influence through vice chairs and board members they help select; Warsh, however, may only work with the existing Board of Governors members who were already in place when he assumed office. Timiraos stressed that Democrats winning control of the Senate represents the strongest check yet on Trump’s efforts to reshape the Fed—previous constraints on Fed independence having been piecemeal: Senator Thom Tillis’s blocking efforts, Jerome Powell’s continuation as a governor (rather than chair), and a court ruling allowing Lisa Cook to temporarily retain her seat as a governor. Although Trump appointed Warsh as the Fed’s new chair this spring, most current board seats remain filled by appointees of prior presidents—and there are currently no vacancies. Any future openings would require nominees to win confirmation from a Senate led by Democrats. Notably, last year’s confirmations of Stephen Miran and Micki Bowman’s promotion to Vice Chair for Supervision drew zero Democratic Senate votes; similarly, Warsh’s own confirmation secured only one Democratic “yes” vote—cast by Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman.