The confirmation process for President Donald Trump’s Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, was dealt an impediment this week as Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., issued a stark ultimatum, threatening to block the process until the administration concludes its criminal investigation into current Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
“I’d be one of the first people to introduce Mr. Warsh if we’re behind this [probe of Powell] and support him, but not before this matter is settled,” Tillis said during a CNBC interview Wednesday.
In separate comments over the past week, the North Carolina senator, a key Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee, dismissed the Department of Justice’s probe into alleged false statements Powell made during Senate testimony last June as lacking compelling evidence.
“The Department of Justice continues to pursue a criminal investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell based on committee testimony that no reasonable person could construe as possessing criminal intent,” Tillis wrote on X.
Although he views Warsh as “a qualified nominee,” Tillis said he would not advance the nomination until the Powell probe is resolved. Without Tillis’ vote, Warsh’s nomination will likely stall barring Democratic support, as Republicans hold a slim 13-11 majority on the Senate Banking Committee.
Tillis had previously issued a statement on Jan. 11, after news of the Powell investigation broke, stating that he would “oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed chair vacancy — until this legal matter is fully resolved.”
The threat from a senior Republican lawmaker continues the bipartisan push to preserve the Federal Reserve’s independence in the face of the Trump administration’s efforts to exert greater control over monetary policy.
As Tillis wields his influential position to defend Powell from the Trump administration’s accusations, Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee have separately demanded that Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., delay the confirmation proceedings for Warsh.
In a letter sent to Scott on Tuesday, which was signed by the 11 Democratic committee members, ranking member Elizabeth Warren and her colleagues argued that the Senate cannot responsibly vet a new Fed chair while the current leadership is under active criminal investigation.
“The Senate cannot consider a nominee for Chair of the Federal Reserve when the President and his Department of Justice are actively weaponizing the federal law enforcement apparatus to remove the current Chair,” the senators wrote.
Echoing Tillis, the Democrat-penned letter requests a pause to the nomination process until the Justice Department provides a full resolution to the Powell investigation.
The controversy in question relates to allegations that Powell perjured himself during his Senate testimony last year, when he was grilled about cost overruns for an ongoing renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Although Scott told Fox Business on Wednesday that he disagrees with Powell on policy and is excited for a leadership change, he does not believe the current Fed chair committed a crime during the Senate committee hearing.
“Ineptness or being incompetent is not a criminal act,” Scott said. “I believe what he did is made a gross error in judgment. He was not prepared for that hearing. I do not believe that he committed a crime during the hearing.”
Scott said he was confident Warsh would be confirmed, adding that he recently had a productive conversation with Tillis.
“I believe that we are going to resolve that issue, we’re going to move forward, and Thom Tillis will be voting for Kevin Warsh as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve,” he concluded.
