JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Tuesday urged US lawmakers to vote in Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve Chair as soon as possible, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent voiced confidence that would happen in spite of impending hurdles at the Senate.
Dimon, whose bank beat Wall Street estimates in first-quarter results released Tuesday, addressed the Fed chair impasse during an earnings call.
The Wall Street veteran praised Warsh as “a great candidate” in response to a question from The Post on delays to his nomination.
“I think the sooner the better, because I think it would actually create stability,” Dimon said of the nomination process.
The Senate Banking Committee’s nomination hearing for Warsh was pushed back a week as it waited for Warsh’s financial disclosures. It’s now set for next week, though Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has vowed to vote against any Trump nominee for Fed chair until the Justice Department drops its probe of incumbent Jerome Powell.
“I’m not concerned about it,” Dimon said of the delay to Warsh’s nomination hearing. “This is a political issue. [If it] takes a little extra time, it won’t affect the world economy.”
Dimon previously described the DOJ probe into Powell — focusing on his statements around the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovations to its Washington, DC, headquarters, a plan first reported by The Post — as a possible threat to the bank’s independence.
Tillis vowed to stick to his guns on Tuesday.
Asked whether there was any change in the senator’s stance, a Tillis spokesperson told The Post: None, he has always supported holding the hearing to make sure we can fast-track the confirmation once the frivolous DOJ investigation concludes.”
Speaking to reporters in Washington, DC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was bullish that an end to the months-long row would be found soon and that he was “confident” Warsh would be sworn in on time in May.
“We want Kevin Warsh as soon as possible,” the former hedge fund mogul said. “I think Sen. Tillis, at the end of the day, is a reasonable man.”
His comments came as JPMorgan kicked off its earnings season with a robust report that showed profits climbing 13% in the first quarter.
But that was even as its longtime chief executive painted a picture of an economy sailing with strong winds at its back and dark clouds of uncertainty looming on the horizon.
The nation’s biggest bank posted net income of $16.5 billion, or $5.94 per share, for the three months ended March 31.
That handily beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations of $5.43 per share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue climbed 10% to a sturdy $49.8 billion from $45.3 billion a year earlier.
It was a tale of two moods at the bank that serves clients from everyday checking account holders on Main Street to high-flying dealmakers on Wall Street.
Dimon, the 70-year-old Queens native who has steered the bank through crises for nearly two decades, struck a cautious note about the road ahead.
“Consumers are still earning and spending, and businesses remain healthy,” he said in prepared remarks.
The exec pointed to fresh fiscal stimulus from Washington, the perks of lighter regulation, a surge in capital spending fueled by artificial intelligence and the Federal Reserve’s ongoing bond-buying program.
Those positives helped fuel strong results across several corners of the bank. Investment banking fees — the lifeblood of big mergers, stock offerings, and advisory work — jumped a healthy 28%.
Trading revenue, which comes from buying and selling everything from stocks to complex derivatives, rose 20% to $11.6 billion.
The upbeat numbers sent JPMorgan shares up modestly in early trading Tuesday, closing the previous session at $313.68 and up about 1.2%.
Still, the stock has eased back from highs earlier this year amid broader worries about everything from private credit markets to global conflicts.
Dimon warned of “an increasingly complex set of risks” that could upend the sunny outlook.
Echoing remarks from his annual shareholder letter last week, they included simmering geopolitical tensions and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, wild swings in energy prices, uncertainty around global trade, and massive government budget deficits around the world.
“We cannot predict how these risks and uncertainties will ultimately play out,” he said, having voiced support for the US-Israeli strikes on Iran in his yearly missive.
Those comments come as big banks kick off what investors hope will be a revealing earnings week.
After a bumpy stretch in markets, Wall Street is eager for clues about how lenders are faring in both their traditional lending businesses and their more glamorous capital-markets operations.
JPMorgan’s performance underscores the resilience of the broader US banking system so far in 2026.
The economy has defied some pessimists, supported by solid job growth and household balance sheets that, while stretched in places, have not yet cracked. Credit card spending and loan demand have held up better than many feared.
Investors have also grown jittery about the fast-growing private credit industry, where non-bank lenders provide financing outside the traditional banking system. Any cracks there could ripple into the wider financial world.
There is also the potential impact of artificial intelligence. While it promises huge productivity gains and has already driven investment booms, its disruptive power on jobs, industries and entire business models remains hard to forecast.
Dimon’s warnings echo themes he has sounded in recent annual letters to shareholders, where he has positioned himself as the “skunk at the party” — the one willing to point out uncomfortable truths even when times feel good.
JPMorgan’s first-quarter results highlight the bank’s sheer scale and diversified muscle. It operates in consumer banking, commercial lending, asset management and investment banking, giving it a front-row seat to the economy’s every twist and turn.
The 13% profit jump reflects not just favorable market conditions but also disciplined cost control and steady loan growth in many areas.
Analysts will now turn their attention to commentary from other banking heavyweights also reporting on Tuesday, including Wells Fargo and Citigroup.
Additional reporting by Charles Gasparino.
