January 30, 2026appointmentFederal Reserve independencemonetary policyconflicts of interestbig tech influencemonetary policyconflicts of interestFederal Reserve independence
Trump nominates son-in-law of Greenland investor Lauder as Federal Reserve chair
President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh on January 30, 2026, to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair, a pick that immediately drew scrutiny because Warsh is married to Jane Lauder, daughter of Ronald Lauder — a 60-year Trump friend, major donor, and investor in Greenlandic water and energy companies who is credited with first pitching Trump on annexing Greenland. Warsh, a former Fed governor, Morgan Stanley banker, and Stanford University trustee, had run venture capital investments for billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller and counted PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen among his college friends from Stanford.
Sources
The new Fed chair's billionaire father-in-law is a friend of Trump's from college and has business interests in GreenlandKevin Warsh would be the first tech bro Fed chair. How Silicon Valley shaped himWith Warsh pick, Trump backs a longtime donor's son-in-law to lead the Federal ReserveWill the Next Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh Be More Compliant With Trump?