Warsh nominated for Fed chair, path to confirmation unclear
Jerome Powell’s term at the helm expires May 15
President Donald Trump has formally nominated Kevin Warsh to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, the White House said Wednesday in a statement.
Trump said Jan. 30 he had picked Warsh, a former Fed governor, to lead the US central bank when Jerome Powell’s term at the helm expires May 15. He’s been nominated to fill the board seat currently occupied by Fed Governor Stephen Miran.
Warsh’s path to confirmation in the Senate, however, faces significant hurdles.
Since the revelation in January that the Department of Justice was pursuing a criminal investigation into a building renovation project at the Fed, and into Powell’s congressional testimony about the project, Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, has said he wouldn’t vote for any new nominees to the Fed until the investigation is resolved. Tillis has signaled he views the probe as a threat to the central bank’s independence.
As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which vets Fed nominees, Tillis can likely block Warsh’s nomination from reaching the Senate floor.
– By Christopher Condon (Bloomberg)
