The Senate Banking Committee advanced Kevin Warsh’s nomination to lead the Federal Reserve, moving Trump’s pick toward a full Senate vote in May.
The Senate Banking Committee voted Wednesday to advance Kevin Warsh’s nomination to chair the Federal Reserve, sending President Donald Trump’s pick to the full Senate after a 13-11 vote that split entirely along party lines.
All 13 Republicans on the panel backed Warsh, while all 11 Democrats opposed him. The vote moves Warsh a step closer to succeeding Jerome Powell, whose term as Fed chair is set to end May 15, at a moment when the central bank’s independence and interest-rate policy remain under intense political scrutiny.
Warsh needs a simple majority in the Senate to be confirmed. A final vote is expected the week of May 11, according to a spokesperson for Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office. If confirmed, Warsh would become the 17th chair of the Fed since 1913 and could be in place for the central bank’s June 16-17 meeting.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the Republican chair of the Banking Committee, praised Warsh after the vote, citing his prior service as a Fed governor during the financial crisis. “Frankly, his time as a former governor of the Federal Reserve during the crisis makes him battle-tested and ready to serve, and not only serve, but to lead,” Scott said.
Warsh served on the Fed Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011. His nomination has drawn sharp Democratic criticism over whether he would preserve the central bank’s distance from the White House, especially after Trump repeatedly pressed the Fed to cut interest rates more aggressively.
At his confirmation hearing last week, Warsh said he would remain “strictly independent” in setting monetary policy. Asked whether Trump had pressured him to commit to cutting rates, Warsh said, “The president never asked me to predetermine, fix or decide on any interest rate decision, nor would I ever do so.”
The committee vote came the same day Fed officials were expected to announce their latest interest-rate decision, with reporting from the supplied sources indicating they were expected to keep the benchmark rate steady. The decision could be among Powell’s last as chair.
One potential obstacle to Warsh’s path eased after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced April 24 that her office would end a criminal investigation involving Powell and cost overruns tied to the Fed’s Washington headquarters renovation. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican on the Banking Committee, had previously said he would block Warsh’s nomination unless the Justice Department dropped the probe. After the announcement, Tillis said he was prepared to advance the nomination.
Democrats continued to warn that the nomination could weaken the Fed’s independence. Warren, the panel’s ranking Democrat, said in a press release that Wednesday’s committee vote was the first fully partisan committee vote on a Fed chair nominee in the institution’s current confirmation process.
The next test is the full Senate, where Republicans hold the majority and Warsh’s nomination requires only a simple majority to pass.
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