NEW YORK, April 26 (Xinhua) — Republican Senator Thom Tillis, a member of U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, on Sunday dropped his objection to confirmation of Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh, according to his statement posted on social media.
“I look forward to supporting Kevin Warsh’s confirmation,” said Tillis, who cited assurances that the U.S. Department of Justice closed its investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell and only a criminal referral from the Fed’s inspector general would cause a reopening of the investigation.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday dropped its controversial investigation targeting Powell.
“I have directed my office to close our investigation” as the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve undertakes this inquiry, said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro in a social media post on Friday.
Tillis saw U.S. prosecutors’ criminal investigation targeting Powell as a serious threat to the Fed’s independence and vowed to block the confirmation of Warsh before the investigation ends.
To advance his confirmation, Warsh must earn a majority of votes on the committee, which comprises 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has scheduled a vote on Warsh’s nomination on April 29.
The U.S. Senate could have a floor vote on Warsh’s nomination before May 15 when Powell’s term as Fed chair ends.
Still, Warsh’s confirmation faces objection from a key Democratic Senator.
“No Republican claiming to care about Fed independence should support moving forward the nomination of Kevin Warsh, who proved in his nomination hearing to be nothing more than President Trump’s sock puppet,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, in a statement on Saturday.
The White House sent the U.S. Senate the nomination of Warsh to be the next chairman of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System for a term of four years in early March following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of the nomination on Jan. 30. ■
