WASHINGTON — Sen. Thom Tillis said he will support the nomination of Kevin Warsh to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, clearing a key hurdle for the White House’s pick.
Tillis, a Republican who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he is prepared to move forward with Warsh’s confirmation.
“I am prepared to move on with the confirmation of Mr. Warsh. I think he’s going to be a great Fed Chair,” Tillis said.
The senator had previously blocked a vote on Warsh’s nomination amid a Justice Department investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term is set to expire May 15. That probe was dropped Friday.
‘Devastating Consequences’
In a statement, Tillis said the DOJ investigation posed a significant risk to the central bank’s independence.
“If we had allowed this investigation to occur, I think it would have had devastating consequences for our financial systems and the markets worldwide,” Tillis said, according to NBC News.
The investigation followed months of criticism from Donald Trump, who has repeatedly pushed for lower interest rates and accused Powell of mismanagement tied to a multibillion-dollar renovation project at the Fed’s Washington headquarters.
Tillis suggested the probe may have been intended to pressure Powell to step down early, adding he has received assurances that any appeal would not be used to reopen the case.
As the CU Daily has been reporting, Trump has publicly criticized Powell for not cutting rates more aggressively and has indicated he expects the next Fed chair to lower borrowing costs. He has also joked that he would take legal action against Warsh if he failed to do so.
Play by the Rules
Tillis echoed concerns about inflation, saying policymakers must address affordability challenges but emphasized the importance of adhering to established processes.
“But you’ve got to do it by the rules,” Tillis said, adding that he expects Warsh to operate independently, even if that frustrates Trump at times.
During a Senate hearing Tuesday, lawmakers questioned Warsh about monetary policy and the Fed’s independence from the White House. Elizabeth Warren, the committee’s top Democrat, pressed Warsh to identify a point of disagreement with Trump’s economic agenda.
Warsh responded that his disagreement was that he “was out of central casting,” prompting Warren to reply, “quite adorable,” NBC News reported.
