Federal Reserve Chair Nominee Jerome Powell's Confirmation Receives "On the Line" Approval from Senate Banking Committee, Next Step is Full Senate Vote

BlockBeats News, April 29th. The U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of Kevin Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve chair by a vote of 13 in favor and 11 against, as proposed by President Trump. The nomination will now be sent to the full Senate for a final vote.

This vote showed a clear partisan divide, with all Republican members in support and all Democratic members in opposition. Nick Timiraos, the "Fed Whisperer," pointed out that this was a rare party-line vote on a Federal Reserve chair nomination in recent years. Previously, Powell's two chair nominations received broad bipartisan support.

Earlier, Republican Senator Tillis had opposed advancing the nomination process due to Justice Department investigations into Powell. However, after the U.S. Department of Justice announced the termination of the criminal investigation and handed it over to the Federal Reserve Inspector General, the nomination process resumed.

On the Democratic side, there are ongoing concerns that Warsh may weaken the independence of the Federal Reserve. Senate Banking Committee Democratic leader Warren criticized Warsh, suggesting he could become a "political puppet" for Trump.

The market generally expects that with Republicans holding a majority in the Senate, Warsh will likely be smoothly confirmed in the end. The current Fed chair Powell's term is set to officially end on May 15th.