'I Think He's An Incredible Choice': Scott Bessent Praises Pick Of Kevin Warsh As Fed Chair

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]So, you just had breakfast with our new Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh.

[00:00:08]How was that?

[00:00:09]>> It was great. It was It was President Reagan would say it was a new day at the Fed.

[00:00:16]So, we now we now have the Warsh Fed.

[00:00:18]The Treasury Secretary of the Fed chair have lunch or breakfast every week. It's a home game and in an away game. So, I did the away game at the Fed. Their food's much better because they don't have a budget.

[00:00:32]>> [laughter] >> They they print their own money.

[00:00:35]>> Apparently not.

[00:00:36]>> Apparently not. One hears. Uh but it it was good. Look, it's the renewal and change is good and I think we are going to see uh a a new sheriff in town.

[00:00:50]I I think we are I'm I'm not going to get out ahead of the chairman, but he said he's going to get rid of forward guidance.

[00:00:58]So, I I think I would expect >> Approve of that.

[00:01:01]>> 100%.

[00:01:02]>> Mhm.

[00:01:02]>> 100% and I I also think we're going to get back to basics in terms of accountability, credibility, and what's the purpose of the Fed because Larry, for your career is longer than mine, but for a long time it the Fed just ran in the background.

[00:01:23]It it wasn't oh, it's Fed day. It's the Fed meeting.

[00:01:27]Cover the press conference. You know, all all all day event, all these governors out giving speeches and kind of popping off. And I think we are going to see much more focus, much more a lot more credibility. And at the end of the day, financial markets, it's all about credibility.

[00:01:48]>> Um I noticed President said right at the beginning as soon as Kevin was confirmed that he's on his own. There's really no pressure to move interest rates in one way or another. That you just have to trust he's going to trust his Fed chairman.

[00:02:02]And I just wanted to be sure that the Treasury secretary echoed those views.

[00:02:08]>> 100% that the the the president made the decision.

[00:02:12]I ran the process. President made the decision. I never put my the thumb on the scale for uh Kevin Warsh, who I'd known for 20 years. I think he's an incredible choice. And if the president got there for all the the right reasons. And the president understands that the more credible you are, the more work the financial markets will do for you.

[00:02:34]>> So, no pressure at the moment.

[00:02:36]>> Uh look, I I again, every everyone a a lot of the publications wanted to be alarmist. And to the extent I had any success in my 35-year Wall Street career was usually doing the opposite of what was on the front page. And when I saw over the past couple of weeks uh what a terrible time to start up as the Fed chair. It's like, no, it's a great time.

[00:03:00]It's a great time. Interest rates have spiked. Inflation has spiked. The tough thing would have been to have come in in uh come in in February. And the market was pricing in two or three rate cuts for the year. Inflation was looked like we're going to come back down to target.

[00:03:16]Growth was high. Much better to come in now. And look, you all can be the judge.

[00:03:23]I'm not saying whether it's the causation or the uh >> correlation >> correlation.

[00:03:32]But uh rates peaked the day before Chair Warsh was sworn in.