BlockBeats News, February 19, 2026 – FOMC Voter and Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari stated that Warsh is fully qualified to be Fed Chair. He has been outspoken in his views on the Fed and looks forward to the discussion ahead. Additionally, it remains uncertain whether the Fed can taper its balance sheet without a significant change.
Furthermore, according to PolyBeats monitoring, despite the White House officially announcing Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair, with preparations underway on February 13, the White House once again stated that they are preparing the nomination of Warsh as Fed Chair. However, in the Polymarket market “Who will Trump nominate for Fed Chair,” Warsh’s probability of formal nomination has dropped from 99.7% to 95%, and the probability of Trump appointing Judy Shelton as the next Fed Chair has risen to 4-5%.
BlockBeats Note: Judy Shelton has long criticized the Federal Reserve System and has expressed particular support for some form of a return to the gold standard, hoping gold will play a larger role in the monetary system. In July 2019, Trump nominated her to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, but her nomination was ultimately not confirmed by the Senate due to her strong criticism of the Fed’s current policies. Even if Kevin Warsh’s nomination for Fed Chair changes, Judy Shelton may find it difficult to be a viable option.
