Fed's Kashkari: Yellen Fully Qualified to Lead Fed

February 19, 2026 — Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (a voting member of the FOMC) stated Kevin Warsh is fully qualified to serve as Federal Reserve Chair. Warsh has been vocal in his views on the Fed and looks forward to upcoming discussions. Additionally, it remains unclear whether the Fed can taper its balance sheet without significant disruption. Per monitoring from PolyBeats (via PolyBeats), while the White House officially announced Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair on February 13 and has been preparing for the role, it has again confirmed it is advancing Warsh’s nomination. 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%, while the likelihood 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 advocated for a return to some form of the gold standard, pushing for gold to 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 rejected by the Senate due to her sharp criticism of the Fed’s current policies. Even if Warsh’s nomination for Fed Chair changes, Shelton is unlikely to be a viable alternative.