Powell Investigation a 'Distraction' That Could Delay Warsh Confirmation, Says French Hill

Chair of the House Financial Services Committee French Hill said that he hopes the DOJ can review data and make a decision about whether to pursue a further investigation of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell before it impacts President Trump's economic agenda, including the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next fed chair. The Republican representative from Arkansas also said that he expects Powell to appear before his committee for his semi-annual testimony, something that had been up in the air given the DOJ's investigation.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis reiterated his intention to block Kevin Warsh from becoming chairman of the Federal Reserve until a criminal investigation into renovations at the Fed is stopped, despite his belief that the nomination is a good one.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television shortly after President Donald Trump announced he had chosen Warsh to replace current chair Jerome Powell, Tillis praised the pick but said he wouldn’t allow it to move forward for now.

“I am pleased with the nominee; I think that by most accounts he’s well regarded,” the North Carolina senator said. “But we still have to clear the current matter,” he said of the investigation into Powell’s testimony on renovations at the Federal Reserve building in Washington, calling it a “frivolous prosecution.”

The retiring Tillis, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, encouraged the administration to end the probe into the Fed and Powell, whose tenure ends in May, to ensure independence of the central bank.

“We have some time between now and May for that investigation to go away and for the confirmation process to open up,” he said.

Trump told reporters on Friday he’s willing to push back Warsh’s confirmation to get past Tillis’ blockade, which could mean a lengthy delay to installing his hand-picked candidate to lead the Fed.

“If he doesn’t approve, we’ll just have to wait until someone comes in that will approve it, right?” Trump said. Tillis’ term ends in January 2027.

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