Kevin Warsh edges a step closer to clinching the Fed chairmanship under Trump
Warsh, one of the few high profile Republicans on Trump's business councils who did not denounce his reaction to the Charlottesville terrorist attack, met with Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Thursday to discuss the potential appointment, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a White House official.
Warsh, is married to Jane Lauder, granddaughter of cosmetic icon Estée Lauder, and the WSJ reported that "his father-in-law, businessman Ron Lauder, has been lobbying the White House to have the president name his son-in-law to the central bank's highest post, [according to] people familiar with those conversations."
Warsh was credited with playing a crucial role in helping former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke in the process of rescuing Wall Street banks who had run into trouble because of massive bad bets on mortgage-related bonds.
At the same time, his monetary policy views have proven more problematic. Back in 2009-2011, while still at the Fed, Warsh was keenly worried about inflation at a time when consumer price growth was deeply undershooting the central bank's 2% target and unemployment remained very high.