The Senate Banking Committee next week will vote to advance Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to become Federal Reserve chairman.
The Senate Banking Committee set a committee vote to advance Warsh’s nomination for Federal Reserve chairman of the Fed Board of Governors for next Wednesday.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) had also announced his support to advance Warsh’s confirmation after Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for Washington, DC, had said she closed an investigation into cost overruns in the renovation of the Fed’s D.C. headquarters, more formally known as the Eccles Building.
He said in a statement on X:
I have been clear from the start: the U.S. Attorney’s Office criminal investigation into Chair Powell was a serious threat to the Fed’s independence, and it needed to end before I could support Kevin Warsh’s confirmation. I welcome the Inspector General’s investigation. This is a necessary and appropriate measure, and I have confidence it will be conducted thoroughly and professionally.
I take the Department of Justice at its word: the investigation is closed, and any appeal of Judge Boasberg’s ruling will be with respect to legal principles and not for the purpose of reissuing subpoenas. Only a criminal referral from the inspector general would cause a reopening of the investigation.
With these assurances, I look forward to supporting Kevin Warsh’s confirmation. He is an outstanding nominee, and it is time for the Federal Reserve to move beyond this distraction and return its full attention to its mission.
Warsh is expected to advance through the Senate Banking Committee with Tillis’s support.
Current Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term as chairman expires on May 15, said he will not leave as the chair of the Fed as long as the investigation into the Fed building renovation continues. His term as Fed governor continues until 2028.