Senate advances Warsh, Trump's pick to chair Federal Reserve

The Senate voted on Monday to advance the nomination of Kevin Warsh to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, putting him on track to be confirmed later this week to replace Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The Senate voted 49-44 to advance the nomination, a development that was expected after the Senate Banking Committee voted 13-11 along party lines last week to report Warsh to the floor.

Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) were the only Democrats to vote to advance Warsh's nomination. No Republican voted against moving the nominee.

Warsh has taken a cautious approach to the prospect of cutting interest rates later this year, despite heaping pressure from Trump to significantly reduce borrowing costs.

Warsh emphasized the importance of preserving the central bank's independence during his Senate confirmation hearing.

He pushed back on senators' questions about whether he would cave to pressure from the White House, telling lawmakers that he did not "make a deal" with the president on rates before his nomination.

Warsh, who is 55, served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011 and was considered an inflation hawk during his time in that role.

His nomination was delayed by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who refused to move any of Trump's nominees to the Fed through the Banking Committee while the Justice Department was investigating what Tillis had repeatedly criticized as an ill-advised criminal investigation against Powell.

Federal prosecutors dropped their probe of Powell late last month, opening the way for Tillis to vote for Warsh in committee.

Warsh will replace Powell, whose term as chair expires on May 15.

Powell, who has butted heads with Trump over interest rates, is scheduled to remain on the Fed's board of governors through January of 2028.