Sen. Thom Tillis said Sunday he’s now prepared to back Kevin Warsh’s nomination to lead the Federal Reserve, after the Department of Justice dropped its criminal investigation into current Chair Jerome Powell.
The North Carolina Republican had spent weeks saying he couldn’t support any new Fed chair while the Justice Department was, in his view, using its investigative powers to pressure Mr. Powell.
The department announced Friday it was ending the probe, which focused on cost overruns in a renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters.
“We worked a lot over the weekend to make sure that we were very clear that we have assurances from the DOJ that I needed to feel like they were not using the DOJ as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed,” Mr. Tillis said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “This will allow Mr. Warsh to move on with his confirmation on time.”
Mr. Tillis’ announcement likely clears the way for Mr. Warsh’s nomination to pass out of the Senate Banking Committee.
At Mr. Warsh’s confirmation hearing, Mr. Tillis described the renovation overruns as “unfortunate” but also “legitimate,” pushing back against allegations that triggered the Justice Department review. He also said he was confident Mr. Warsh would safeguard the Fed’s independence from White House pressure to cut interest rates.
“If anybody thinks a president can appoint somebody and you unilaterally can control things, you’re going to be an unsuccessful chair, if history is any guide,” Mr. Tillis said.
