April 17 - San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said on Friday that Kevin Warsh, the nominated Federal Reserve chair, will not be able to rigidly follow a pre-set agenda once he assumes the role.
Delivering remarks at UC Berkeley’s Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics’ Spring 2026 Policy Advisory Board meeting, Daly stressed that incoming leadership inevitably must react to economic developments. She noted that precedent shows Fed chairs often begin with intentions but are redirected by real-world events.
"He’ll come in with an idea of what he would like to think about and do," Daly said. She added that actual policymaking will be shaped by unfolding economic conditions: "And then the economy will deliver what we actually work on, and that will be the journey of every Fed chair and all the Fed policymakers and all the Fed employees."
Daly’s remarks underline a central dynamic of central banking: the balance between a chair’s initial priorities and the need to pivot when the economy presents unexpected challenges. She invoked a lineage of Fed chairs stretching back to Paul Volcker to make the point that this adaptive process is a long-standing feature of the institution.
The comments came during a Policy Advisory Board meeting focused on real estate and urban economics. Daly framed her observations as part of a broader discussion about how policy teams set priorities and then respond when economic data or shocks alter those priorities.
Her message highlights a potential tension between a nominee’s stated plan for the Federal Reserve and the unpredictable nature of economic developments that ultimately determine the central bank’s agenda. Daly emphasized that the path of policy is often determined by circumstances rather than by initial intentions alone.
Clear summary
Mary Daly said that while Kevin Warsh will enter the Fed with ideas for policy, historical patterns and economic surprises mean he will need to adapt his agenda once in office, a pattern she traced back to previous chairs including Paul Volcker. Her comments were made at UC Berkeley’s Fisher Center Spring 2026 Policy Advisory Board meeting.