Republicans who want Kevin Warsh confirmed as the country’s next top economic official are growing more exasperated at a Trump administration probe standing in the way.
For months, outgoing GOP Sen. Thom Tillis has said he’d blockade President Donald Trump’s pick until the Justice Department drops an investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Now a growing chorus of Republicans, eager to install Warsh as Powell’s term as chair comes to a conclusion next month, are joining the call for the administration to end the probe.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday he believed the administration should wrap up its investigation, and acknowledged that Warsh is basically stuck until then.
“I think at some point they’re going to have to deal with the committee, and they’re going to have to deal with Tillis,” Thune said of the administration.
Tillis holds a deciding vote on the Senate Banking panel, which scheduled a hearing on Warsh’s confirmation Tuesday. His GOP colleagues on the committee haven’t committed to blocking Warsh with him, but some are taking his side in calling for an end to the investigation into whether Powell lied to Congress during testimony last year about cost overruns at the Fed’s Washington headquarters.
Sen. Mike Rounds, who has previously declined to weigh in on the probe, told reporters Wednesday he wants to see it dropped so that Warsh can be confirmed.
“The president wants a different Fed chair. And we want to help him get there,” Rounds said. “But that requires right now that they resolve the issue surrounding this prosecution that is still taking place.”
Another Banking Republican granted anonymity to speak candidly predicted the administration and Tillis would ultimately find an off-ramp but told Jordain Carney the DOJ “should drop the investigation.”
And over in the House — which holds no sway over nominations — Financial Services Chair French Hill said Wednesday “it’s time for the administration to draw that investigation to a conclusion,” as “we want to make sure that we’ve got a new confirmed head of the Fed that we can work with in conducting oversight.”
Trump, meanwhile, is digging in and ratcheting up his conflict with Powell. He threatened Wednesday to fire Powell if he stays on as chair once his term ends — a growing possibility amid the Warsh stalemate. That follows a visit that officials from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office made to the Fed’s headquarters this week.
Asked about the prospect of getting Tillis’ vote to help secure his Fed nominee, Trump said on Fox Business that the North Carolinian is “no longer a senator,” given that Tillis is retiring at the end of his term.
But Tillis is standing his ground, Jordain and Jasper Goodman report, and he’s leaving the door open to exercising his power even more.
Tillis also sits on Senate Judiciary, where he will have a vote in the event the panel considers a successor to outgoing Attorney General Pam Bondi. He’s already warned he will block any attorney general nominee who has dismissed the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. And he’s not completely ruling out making the Fed probe a litmus test for AG nominees if it continues.
“If we keep letting this go on, I have to consider other options for really amplifying my concern,” Tillis said of his Fed fight.
What else we’re watching:
— Johnson tries again on FISA: Speaker Mike Johnson is expecting to put a procedural vote on the House floor Thursday to renew key government spy powers after his attempt Wednesday failed. GOP leaders canceled a planned vote Wednesday amid disagreements over whether to allow members to amend the legislation reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
— RFK Jr. hearing palooza kicks off: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Thursday starts a stretch of seven congressional hearings in less than a week. The series serves as the first high-profile public forum to test the White House’s theory that Kennedy will help Republicans in the midterms.
— Selig likely to talk prediction markets: House Agriculture lawmakers Thursday are all but certain to press CFTC Chair Michael Selig on the surge in popularity — and controversy — surrounding prediction markets. Selig has emerged as the markets’ most prominent backer in Washington, but he’s also planning to make one thing clear to the lawmakers up front: He’s still the markets’ top cop.
Jordain Carney, Jasper Goodman, Mia McCarthy, Declan Harty, Carmen Paun, Simon Levien, Robert King and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
