Trump’s Fed pick was on KY Senate candidate Nate Morris’ company advisory board

President Donald Trump’s pick to chair the U.S. Federal Reserve has a connection to one of the leading candidates for the GOP nomination to U.S. Senate in Kentucky.

Kevin Warsh, who was announced as Trump’s selection to chair the independent central banking system Friday, served on the advisory board of a company run by Nate Morris, a Lexington entrepreneur who is running for the Republican nomination to fill Sen. Mitch McConnell’s seat this year against former Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Rep. Andy Barr.

Warsh was on the advisory board of Rubicon Global for several years, according to a 2016 Vanity Fair article and Morris’ campaign.

The company, which hailed itself as an “Uber for trash,” sought to disrupt the incumbent-driven waste business, focusing on a model akin to rideshare app Uber and sustainability.

Rubicon hit highs and lows before Morris’ departure.

Morris founded Rubicon in 2008, shepherding it to a public offering valuation of $1.7 billion. The company faced serious issues when it went public, with stocks plummeting from $7.55 per share to about $1 in just two months; Morris stepped down as CEO at that time with a $40 million compensation package. He left the board in June 2023.

Warsh was quoted in the Vanity Fair article speaking highly of Morris’ ability to cut through political debate.

“In the political sphere, the left and the right might have disagreements over climate change and global warming and the immediacy of those challenges,” board member Kevin Warsh said. “But Nate persuaded me that the immediate issue was increasing amounts of waste, uses of landfills that were counterproductive, and to communities and the broader environment.”

Warsh, a bank executive and financier praised by Trump, was on the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011. According to the New York Times, he was something of a liaison to Wall Street during the global financial crisis of 2008.

He would need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to replace the current chair Jerome Powell. Trump has continually clashed with Powell and tried to fire him.

Another quote from that Vanity Fair article came from David Plouffe, the famed campaign manager for former Democratic President Barack Obama.

Plouffe, who, along with famous actor Leonardo DiCaprio, was a member of Rubicon’s board of directors, lauded Morris’ passion for the environment and “understanding of Middle America.”

“It’s so fascinating where he comes from. He’s a Kentucky Republican. He’s one of the most compelling people I’ve heard talk recently about the environment. He brings a practicality to it. I think he’s very grounded—he’s got a very innate understanding of Middle America,” Plouffe said.

Morris has used the story of Rubicon on the campaign trail. He launched his run to replace McConnell with an ad pledging to “take out the trash,” riding in a garbage truck and throwing a cardboard cutout of McConnell into the truck.

Warsh is not the only connection Morris has to Trump world.

Earlier this month, news broke that Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and richest man in the world, gave $10 million to a political action committee supporting Morris. He was also the last candidate for U.S. Senate to be endorsed by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who helped Morris launch his campaign.

Morris’ official campaign has been primarily fueled by the candidate himself thus far. As of Sep. 30, when the last public financial records are available, Morris had loaned his campaign more than $3 million.

Morris is also close with Vice President JD Vance, whom he calls a friend, and has appeared multiple times on a podcast hosted by the president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr.

According to the latest publicly available polling, Morris — who has never held elected office — is in a distant third place among Kentucky Republicans, trailing Cameron in first and Barr in second. Every public poll has pegged Cameron as the leader, though Cameron is fundraising significantly less than both of the others.

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