Wosh Federal Reserve Chair Nominee Passes the Senate Banking Committee by a Narrow Margin, Next Step Will Be a Vote by the Full Senate

BlockBeats News message, on April 29, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee passed the nomination of President Trump’s nominee Kevin Warsh to serve as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday by a vote of 13 in favor and 11 against, and submitted it to the full Senate for a final vote.

This vote showed a clear partisan divide, with all Republican lawmakers supporting it and Democratic lawmakers unanimously opposing it. Nick Timiraos, known as the “Federal Reserve’s mouthpiece,” pointed out that this is a rare Federal Reserve Chair nomination vote pushed along partisan lines in recent years. Previously, both of Powell’s nominations for Chair received bipartisan support with high votes.

Earlier, Republican Senator Tillis had opposed advancing the nomination process due to concerns arising from the Department of Justice’s investigation into Powell. However, after the U.S. Department of Justice announced the termination of the related criminal investigation and moved it to be handled by the Federal Reserve’s Inspector General, the nomination process resumed.

Meanwhile, Democrats continued to question whether Warsh could weaken the independence of the Federal Reserve. Democratic leader in the Senate Banking Committee, Warren, criticized that Warsh could become a “political puppet” of Trump.

The market generally expects that, given the Republicans’ control of the Senate majority, Warsh will most likely be confirmed smoothly in the end. The current term of Federal Reserve Chair Powell will officially end on May 15.