Warsh's regime change at the Fed pushes ahead – and meets resistance

Chairman Kevin Warsh likes to measure his tenure as Federal Reserve chairman in days, and 127 days in, his promise of regime change is taking shape. He's moving fast on some easy and very visible items directly in his control but is constrained from making bigger changes by the state of the economy and by his colleagues on the Fed.Warsh has quickly put his stamp on the way the Fed communicates. Some changes appear cosmetic, such as shortening the news conference that occurs after meetings of the Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee and changing the seating arrangements for reporters to be alphabetical by news organization. But those cosmetic changes hide a more profound shift: the way Warsh thinks about and communicates his views on monetary policy represents a sharp break from his predecessors.Warsh hasn't been able to act yet on one of his key priorities, cutting the Fed's balance sheet, in part because inflation is a more pressing concern. And he constrained himself on other priorities by appointing five task forces to examine Fed practices. They are supposed to report back early next year.Last week's unanimous quarter-point interest rate increase and any ones that f...