Kevin Warsh's Fed confirmation faces new delay, key senator says. Here's why.

MW Kevin Warsh's Fed confirmation faces new delay, key senator says. Here's why.

By Robert SchroederGreg Robb

Trump's pick for Fed chair is expected to push the central bank to cut interest rates

Kevin Warsh's nomination for chair of the Federal Reserve is poised for a fresh delay amid a new legal battle, a key senator says.

A key U.S. senator is warning that Kevin Warsh's confirmation as the next head of the Federal Reserve is facing a fresh delay amid a legal setback tp the Justice Department's criminal investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

A federal judge has thrown out a pair of subpoenas that the DOJ issued to the Fed, dealing a blow to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's investigation into Powell. Pirro, an ally of President Donald Trump, said she'll appeal the decision.

The latest twist in the case amounts to a possible delay for Warsh's Fed confirmation, according to Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican. Tillis has vowed to block Warsh's confirmation until the criminal probe into Powell has ended. The investigation involves the central bank's building renovations.

"Appealing the ruling will only delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair," Tillis wrote in a post on X on Friday afternoon.

"This ruling confirms just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is and it is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence," said the senator, who has expressed admiration for Warsh.

In a decision unsealed Friday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said the subpoenas were improper.

"There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas' dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will," the judge wrote.

Powell's term as Fed chair ends on May 15. Trump announced his pick of Warsh for the Fed post in January. For Warsh's nomination to advance through the Senate, it would have to clear the Senate Banking Committee, on which Tillis sits. But Republicans' slim majority on the panel means Warsh needs Tillis's vote.

The Fed is meeting next week and is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold. Trump has frequently urged the central bank to cut rates, most recently demanding a cut even before officials gather on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Warsh has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, meeting Republican senators. No date for any confirmation hearing has been set.

Many economists think Warsh will push his colleagues to cut interest rates, but the oil price shock from the war with Iran has made the Fed's next moves uncertain.

-Robert Schroeder -Greg Robb

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March 13, 2026 16:42 ET (20:42 GMT)

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