Warsh will leave Fed Board in March

Now 40 years old, Warsh was the youngest-ever Fed governor when President George W. Bush nominated him five years ago. Had he stayed on with the Fed, his term would have run through January 2018. 

Warsh’s departure opens a second seat on the seven-member Board of Governors. Obama filled one of two open seats last year but couldn’t push through Nobel prize-winning economist Peter Diamond. 

Since his nomination last April, several top Republicans expressed concerns about Diamond’s lack of practical qualifications, despite the fact that several other Fed Board members aren’t economists and, instead, have law degrees. Diamond’s nomination is pending again in the Senate. 

“His intimate knowledge of financial markets and institutions proved invaluable during the recent crisis,” said Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke in a statement. “He worked energetically and effectively behind the scenes overseeing the operations of the Board and the Federal Reserve System.”

Prior to his appointment to the Board, from 2002 until 2006, Warsh was a special assistant to the president for economic policy and executive secretary of the White House’s National Economic Council.

Previously, Warsh was a member of the mergers and acquisitions department at Morgan Stanley in New York, serving as vice president and executive director.