GOP Sen. Says He Won’t Block Nomination Of Kevin Warsh As Fed Chair After DOJ Drops Investigation Of Jerome Powell
Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he will support Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Federal Reserve chair, paving the way for his confirmation after the Department of Justice dropped a criminal investigation on the body’s current leader, Jerome Powell.
Speaking on NBC News, Tillis said “we worked a lot over the weekend to make sure that we were very clear that we have assurances from the DOJ that I needed to feel like they were not using the DOJ as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed.”
“So this will allow Mr. Wash to move on with his confirmation on time,” Tillis added.
The lawmaker had been saying he would not vote to advance Warsh as the investigation continued, preventing him from getting the necessary votes to get confirmed.
On Friday, federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro announced that the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve was asked to “scrutinize the building costs overruns” of the Fed’s headquarters, which were at the center of allegations against Powell.
“I expect a comprehensive report in short order and am confident the outcome will assist in resolving, once and for all, the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas. Accordingly, I have directed my office to close our investigation as the IG undertakes this inquiry. Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so,” Pirro added.
The development stands in contrast with her vow on Wednesday to continue the probe, which was hampered by a ruling quashing subpoenas her office had issued to the central bank.
Warsh faced a contentious confirmation hearing last week, where he claimed that the central bank will remain “strictly independent” and rejected he will be the president’s “sock puppet.”
“I am committed to ensuring that the conduct of monetary policy remains strictly independent,” he told the Senate Banking Committee.
Warsh was grilled by senators about his independence should he be confirmed, particularly considering Trump’s demands that interest rates are cut soon to boost economic activity, as well as the stock market.
He claimed that Trump “never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, period, and nor would I ever agree to do so if he had.”
The president, however, was asked last week if he would be disappointed if Warsh did not push for lower rates as soon as he joined the Fed. “I would,” Trump said.
Warsh was asked about the comment during the hearing but again committed to maintaining the central bank’s independence.
Some Democrats, however, are openly skeptical. Senator Elizabeth Warren accused him of “sucking up” to the president to “snag his dream job.”
Warsh also refused to answer questions from warren about $100 million in assets that he has not disclosed publicly. NBC News noted that he also rejected answering whether the money had ties to the Trump family, foreign governments or Jeffrey Epstein.
