The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday voted to advance the nomination of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's next chair of the Federal Reserve. The panel voted 13-11 along party lines to send Warsh's nomination to the full Senate, this puts him on track to be confirmed by the full Senate before Jerome Powell's term ends on May 15.
The Senate Banking Committee vote coincides with the US Federal Reserve's meeting, during which Fed officials are expected to keep the benchmark interest rate steady.
Warsh's confirmation was in a limbo fdor over two months, as the Powell probe had complicated the path ahead for President Trump's pick to replace the outgoing Fed chair.
Warsh's confirmation was in a limbo for over two months, as the Powell probe had complicated the path ahead for President Trump's pick to replace the outgoing Fed chair. Warsh's nomination had been held up by Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee as the investigation into Powell's handling of Fed renovations were ongoing.
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However, last week the Department of Justics agreed to drop a criminal probe into the cost overruns in the renovation of the Fed's Washington headquarters. In a post on X he said, “I have been clear from the start: the U.S. Attorney's Office criminal investigation into Chair Powell was a serious threat to the Fed's independence, and it needed to end before I could support Kevin Warsh's confirmation.”
Who Is Kevin Warsh?
A Fed veteran, Warsh earlier served during the critical period from 2006 to 2011, spanning the global financial crisis as well as the Central bank's efforts to stabilise the economy. Appointed by President George W Bush, Warsh was among the youngest individuals ever to serve on the Fed's Board of Governors.
Warsh completed his graduation from Stanford University. He then earned a law degree from Harvard. Before becoming a part of Fed, he was in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. He served in the White House during the Bush administration as a special assistant to the President on economic policy.
Notably, this is not the first time when he has been linked to the position of Federal Reserve chairman. He had come close to being nominated back in 2017, when he lost the race to Powell.
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