Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., had nothing but nice things to say about Kevin Warsh following his Tuesday meeting with the nominee for Federal Reserve chair.
In a social media post, he called Warsh’s credentials “impeccable” and said he possesses a “clear vision for maintaining the Fed’s independence while achieving its dual mandate” of promoting stable consumer prices and maximum employment.
But Tillis, who serves on the powerful Senate Banking Committee tasked with vetting Fed chair nominees, held his ground on his ongoing blockade of Warsh’s nomination. Republicans have a razor-thin 13-11 majority on the committee, meaning Tillis has the power to stall the nomination unless a Democratic member breaks ranks.
The North Carolina senator’s demands stem from an ongoing investigation of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose chairmanship term technically expires in May.
Powell disclosed in January that he and the Fed had been subpoenaed by the Department of Justice, which raised the threat of a criminal indictment related to alleged misstatements he made during Senate testimony the prior year. The Fed chair claimed he and the central bank were being targeted by the Trump administration for “setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.”
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the Fed, in sealed court proceedings, is challenging the subpoenas, “which could reduce or eliminate its obligation to respond,” according to the Journal.
Should Warsh’s nomination ultimately proceed, he will be stepping into a quagmire of monetary challenges.
An unexpectedly weak jobs report saw U.S. employers trim 92,000 positions in February, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.4%. Inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target, while the ongoing war against Iran has caused severe disruptions to global oil supply chains, which threatens to undermine inflation progress.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s tariff policies in a historic ruling last month, though questions remain about refunding billions of dollars of tariff revenue. The administration has vowed to pursue tariffs through alternative legal avenues, injecting significant uncertainty into the Fed’s monetary calculus.
Tillis stated in his social media post that he is “awaiting further clarification” from the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. district court that has jurisdiction over the Powell probe, noting that “seven Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee, including the chairman, have stated that no crime was committed.”
In the meantime, Tillis wrote that he hopes the Justice Department “moves quickly to conclude the investigation of Chairman Powell so that we can confirm Kevin Warsh to this critical role by May.”
