Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh has been nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Fed after the term of current Chair Jerome Powell ends on May 15th. The process for President Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair is not proceeding smoothly and may become increasingly complicated.
After months of selection, Trump finally announced the nomination on January 30, 2026. However, nearly three months later, the path to confirming Warsh's nomination remains uncertain. For Warsh to assume the role of Fed Chair, he must first gain approval from the Senate Banking Committee. A hearing by this committee is finally scheduled for April 21st, after which he would need to secure final passage in a vote by the full Senate.
The problem is that Senator Thom Tillis, a senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee from North Carolina, still refuses to vote for Warsh's nomination unless the Justice Department drops its investigation into Powell. The investigation concerns testimony Powell gave to Congress last year about cost overruns for the renovation project of the Fed's Washington D.C. headquarters building. Republicans need Tillis's vote to move the nomination out of the committee for a full vote.
However, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Janaina Piro, who is leading the investigation, is also standing firm. This means that, with less than a month remaining until Chair Powell's term ends, Warsh's nomination remains stalled.
Powell has stated that if Warsh is not confirmed by May 15th, his last day in term, he will continue to serve in the role of "Chair Pro Tempore." He added, "I have no intention of leaving the Federal Reserve Board until the investigation is fully transparent and completely concluded." The Federal Reserve Board itself has rules regarding the temporary filling of vacant positions, and by custom, the incumbent chair typically assumes the temporary role.
However, Trump disagrees with this arrangement. On Wednesday, Trump stated that he would fire Powell if he served as Chair Pro Tempore. If this occurs, it is widely expected that Powell would file a lawsuit, potentially triggering another legal battle between Trump and Federal Reserve officials.
In summary, the nomination and confirmation process for the 17th Chair of the Federal Reserve is arguably the most complex in the modern history of the U.S. central bank, starkly different from the processes for past chairs like Powell, Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke, and Alan Greenspan.
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