Trump’s Fed Pick Kevin Warsh Faces GOP Support and Independence Concerns Amid Rising Power Struggle

Sen. Thom Tillis said he plans to support Kevin Warsh’s nomination to be the next Federal Reserve chief after the Department of Justice dropped a criminal investigation into Chair Jerome Powell. Tillis said he received assurances from the DOJ that it would only reopen the investigation if the Fed’s inspector general recommended criminal charges. The IG investigation is focused on cost overruns in the Fed’s building renovations. With Tillis’s support, the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Fed is all but assured. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., talks with reporters outside the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, nominee to chairman of the Federal Reserve, in Dirksen building on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Sen. Thom Tillis said Sunday he is willing to conclude his blockade of Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh after the U.S. Department of Justice dropped its criminal investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Warsh now has a clear path to replacing Powell as the next leader of the Fed when Powell’s term expires in mid-May. The Senate Banking Committee is set to vote on his confirmation on Wednesday, and the full Senate could take it up shortly after. “I am prepared to move on with the confirmation of Mr. Warsh, I think he’s going to be a great Fed chair,” Tillis, R-N.C., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We were very clear that we have assurances from the DOJ that I needed to create sure they were not using the DOJ as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed. So this will allow Mr. Warsh to move on with his confirmation on time.” Tillis had vowed to withhold his vote for Warsh, whom he supports, before the Senate Banking Committee until the DOJ dropped its investigation of Powell.