Kevin Warsh, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be next chair of the Federal Reserve, at the end of a Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 21 | REUTERS

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Kevin Warsh as the new Federal Reserve chairman to lead a central bank whose independence is under attack and with inflation at a three-year high.

The Senate voted 54 to 45 in favor of Warsh, with Republicans holding a slim majority and ensuring U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell was confirmed.

Once known as a monetary “hawk” against inflation, Warsh has shifted in line with Trump’s push for lower interest rates that has posed an unprecedented challenge to the Fed’s independence.

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