Tillis Vows to Block Trump’s Fed Chair Nominee Until Powell Probe Concludes

On Sunday, Senator Thom Tillis declared he would not support Kevin Warsh—President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the Federal Reserve—until the Justice Department completes its investigation into former Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The North Carolina Republican, who serves on the Senate Banking Committee, stated: “I have tried to make it very clear that I have no intention of supporting any confirmation of any Fed board member, chair or otherwise … until this is resolved.”

Tillis has repeatedly criticized the Justice Department’s probe into Powell over renovation costs at two Federal Reserve buildings in Washington, claiming last month that the investigation endangered the central bank’s independence. Late last month, Trump announced Warsh as his nominee to succeed Powell, whose term expires in May. The president has consistently accused Powell of failing to support earlier or larger interest rate cuts during his first term.

Tillis also rebuked U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who brought the case against Powell, saying: “I think we had a … U.S. attorney with a dream trying to get the president’s attention, not even consulting with the administration and big DOJ on something that maybe they thought they’d get brownie points for.” He added, “It’s not cute.”

The senator emphasized that “the prosecutor should listen to the seven Republican members who said they didn’t see any criminal intent or activity. And more importantly, the prosecutor should understand that the protocol normally would be a referral from the chair or a member of the committee to say, we think a crime was committed here. We’ve got a crime scene where seven Republican members say no crime was committed.”