The president formally sent Warsh’s nomination to the Senate as questions surrounding Jerome Powell’s leadership and a federal probe continue to complicate the confirmation process.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump on Wednesday formally nominated Kevin Warsh to serve as chairman of the Federal Reserve, initiating the Senate confirmation process to replace current chair Jerome Powell.
According to CNBC, the nomination was officially transmitted to lawmakers, marking the administration’s first formal step toward installing Warsh as the central bank’s next leader. The White House confirmed the action in a notice titled nominations sent to the Senate, which was posted online Wednesday.
Warsh would serve a four-year term as Federal Reserve chairman if the Senate confirms the nomination.
The submission follows Trump’s earlier public announcement more than a month ago that he intended to select Warsh for the position. The move would end Powell’s tenure as chair of the U.S. central bank.
However, the nomination immediately faces potential obstacles in the Senate. North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has said he plans to block the nomination from advancing until a federal criminal investigation involving Powell is dropped.
Such a move could prevent the nomination from being considered by the full Senate.
Powell revealed in mid-January that he is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., regarding the $2.5 billion renovation project for the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in the nation’s capital and his testimony to the Senate concerning the project.
Powell said the situation emerged amid tensions with the White House over interest-rate policy.
“The threat of criminal charges” against him, Powell said at the time, resulted from disagreements between Federal Reserve leadership and the Trump administration over the pace of interest rate reductions.
The dispute between the administration and the Federal Reserve intensified last year when Trump attempted to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who had supported Powell’s approach to monetary policy.
Trump cited an allegation from a housing official he appointed claiming Cook committed mortgage fraud. The attempt to remove her, however, was widely viewed as tied to disagreements over the central bank’s interest-rate decisions.
Cook denied the allegations and has remained on the Federal Reserve Board while pursuing a lawsuit challenging the attempted removal.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case in January. A ruling on whether the president has the authority to remove Cook from the Federal Reserve Board has not yet been issued.
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