Warsh's Fed Nomination Changes Nothing, Says Senator Tillis

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. He speaks on "Bloomberg Surveillance."

“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.

The president declined to answer when asked whether the Justice Department should continue with its investigation, but repeated his gripes about the cost of the Fed headquarters renovation and Powell.

“He’s either incompetent or he or somebody is a crook, and we’ll find out.”Trump said.

White House spokesman Kush Desai, in response to Tillis’ plan to block Trump’s Fed nominees from advancing, defended Warsh’s credentials to serve on the Fed and said the new nominee is “eminently qualified” to serve as the central bank’s leader.

“The White House looks forward to working with the Senate to quickly confirm him and get the Federal Reserve back on track,” Desai said in a statement.

Read More: Trump Administration Prepares for Warsh Fed Chair Nomination

Powell, a regular target of vitriol from Trump who wants faster interest rate cuts, announced in a video this month that the Justice Department had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas, stemming from a probe into the renovation project and Powell’s testimony to Congress about it.

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