Dollar, Yields Jump As WSJ Says Trump Met With Warsh On Fed Job

Ok, it looks like Warsh is going to get the Fed job.

“President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Kevin Warsh on Thursday to discuss his potential nomination as the next Federal Reserve chairman,” WSJ reports, adding that “the West Wing is moving ahead with a process that the president has said he would like to have completed by the end of the year.”

The dollar and yields are of course rising. As Bloomberg;s Cameron Crise reminds you, “Warsh was a governor appointed by George W. Bush who was notable for his hawkish outlook both during and after his FOMC tenure, railing against financial repression, so if he is appointed, that should mean a hawkish tilt toward policy next year and beyond.”

Here’s the reaction:

As the Journal also notes (and this is amusing, albeit not surprising), “Warsh’s 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, said people familiar with those conversations.”

Warsh is married to Jane Lauder, granddaughter of cosmetic icon Estée Lauder.

There was no word on whether anyone has told Trump that appointing a hawk would jeopardize this:

RECORD HIGH FOR S & P 500!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 29, 2017

There was also no word on whether Warsh is racist enough to lead the Fed – as we learned last month when Gary Cohn was ostracized by Trump, you apparently have to check the “yes” box under the “are you a neo-Nazi” question on the Fed chair job application in order to be considered.