'Regime change but in a velvet glove': How Kevin Warsh has set out to remake the Fed

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh speaks to reporters during his first news conference since taking the helm at the central bank on June 17, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's first big announced changes point toward a quiet revolution, with task forces set up to rethink virtually everything done to set policy and the approach used to get there. Following his first meeting at the helm Wednesday, Warsh outlined the plan — a sprawling, ambitious endeavor entailing five task forces that will utilize resources and experts within the Fed and from the outside. The reviews amount to a comprehensive examination of all the areas that define modern monetary policy. No chair in recent history has launched a project that has matched the ambition of this one. Their job will be to examine communications, data the Fed uses to measure the economy, the view on inflation and its causes, the impact of technology such as artificial intelligence and the size and composition of the Fed's $6.7 trillion balance sheet and the potential path to cutting the holdings. The task forces will "start with first principles, ask hard questions, examine current practice, consider alternatives, and ultimately propose next steps for policymaker consideration," Warsh said. …