U.S. Senate confirms Kevin Warsh as next Fed chair

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Kevin Warsh's nomination as the next chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in a vote of 54-45, placing the 56-year-old financier at the helm of the U.S. central bank as it navigates a complex landscape of surging inflation and geopolitical volatility.

The confirmation follows a Tuesday vote by the Republican-majority Senate to approve Warsh for a 14-year term on the Federal Reserve's seven-member Board of Governors. His formal swearing-in to both positions is pending final signatures from the White House.

Warsh is set to succeed current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose leadership term expires this Friday. Although Powell will step down from the chairmanship, he will remain on the Federal Reserve Board as a governor.