IBM vice president Gary Cohn said the president Donald Trump’s Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh is uniquely positioned to overhaul the central bank, noting Warsh’s hands-on role during the 2008 financial crisis and his plans to return the Fed to traditional monetary and regulatory rules.

Cohn made the remarks Sunday during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” where host Margaret Brennan asked him about Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve.

Cohn, who worked closely with Warsh during the financial crisis while at Goldman Sachs, said the former Fed governor understands how markets respond to stress and is prepared to push back. unconventional policiesincluding a bloated balance sheet, while focusing the central bank on its core economic mission.

“I think we’re very fortunate to have Kevin as our nominee,” Cohn told Brennan. “Kevin has a unique background as a chair.”

WHO IS KEVIN WARSH, TRUMP’S CHOICE TO SUCCES JEROME POWELL AS CHAIR?

Kevin Warsh, former governor of the US Federal Reserve, speaks during the annual conference of the American Economic Association (AEA) in Chicago, January 6, 2017. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Cohn pointed to Warsh’s time at the Federal Reserve during the 2008 financial crisis, describing him as “instrumental” during that period.

“What I mean by that is when the banks were going through stress, and we saw a lot of bank mergers, we saw a lot of assets moving through the system, Kevin was the main person in the Fed” Cohn said. “He was involved in every one of those discussions.”

“I really think without Kevin’s experience and without Kevin being there, we wouldn’t have come out of the 2008 crisis as well as we did,” he said. “So he’s very qualified.”

TRUMP NOMINATES KEVIN WARSH TO SUCCES JEROME POWELL AS FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN

Kevin Warsh goes to lunch during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference. in Sun Valley, Idaho on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Cohn expressed confidence that Warsh would guide the Federal Reserve back to its traditional role, including focusing on monetary policy rather than non-financial issues.

“There is pressure right now for interest rates to come down. I think it will probably continue with the one to two cuts this year,” Cohn said. “Kevin also thinks the Fed shouldn’t have the big balance sheet. You know, the Fed came in and bought huge amounts of securities. … I think Kevin is going to reverse that.”

Cohn said Warsh is a traditionalist who supports strong regulation that allows markets to grow while ensuring consumers have access to capital.

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President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit at the Gyeongju Arts Center in Gyeongju on October 29, 2025. (Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images/Getty Images)

“I think it’s really the right choice in this time frame,” he said.

Trump officially announced Warsh’s nomination on Friday, ending months of speculation about who he would pick to lead the central bank.

In announcing the pick, Trump said he had known Warsh for years and expressed confidence that he would rank among the most successful Fed chairmen in history.

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Warsh still needs to be confirmed by the Senate before assuming one of the most powerful positions in US economic policymaking.

Before joining the Federal Reserve, Warsh worked in the private sector at Morgan Stanley and later served in the administration of President George W. Bush, building a reputation in Republican economic policy circles. Bush appointed him to the Fed’s Board of Governors in 2006, making him the youngest-ever Fed governor at age 35.

Since leaving the Fed in 2011, Warsh has held academic and advisory roles, including as a Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He also serves on the board of UPS and as a trustee of several prominent economic policy organizations.

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Warsh has been a familiar figure in the Trump administration’s past deliberations, having been considered to replace Janet Yellen as Fed chair in 2017, when Trump selected Jerome Powell. He was also considered to serve as Treasury secretary last fall before Trump nominated hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.

Eric Revell of FOX Business contributed to this report.