Warsh faces first big test on Capitol Hill as Trump’s Fed vision comes into focus
The Senate Banking Committee will vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, in a key test of how much influence the White House...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Senate Banking Committee will vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump ’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, in a key test of how much influence the White House can exert over the central bank. If he clears committee, Warsh's nomination heads to the Senate floor, where Republicans' narrow majority leaves little room for defections if they want to place Trump's pick at the helm of the Fed for the next four years. The Federal Reserve operates largely out of public view, but its influence touches nearly every corner of the U.S. economy — shaping borrowing costs, job growth and inflation , making the outcome of his nomination a key moment for how that power could be steered. FROM MORTGAGES TO CAR LOANS: HOW AFFORDABILITY RISES AND FALLS WITH THE FED Warsh's potential ascent to lead the world’s most powerful central bank comes at a particularly volatile moment. The Federal Reserve is grappling with persisting inflation, economic ripples of the war in Iran and a looming Supreme Court decision over Fed Governor Lisa Cook — all while political pressure builds ahead of the midterm elections in November. The path to a Senate Banking Committee vote on Warsh's nomination was finally able to move forward after the Justice Department closed its probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after months of scrutiny. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., withheld support for moving forward with Warsh’s nomination until the DOJ probe was resolved. Trump pushed back on closing the investigation, further raising questions about governance and oversight at the central bank. The probe was related to potential mismanagement of funds during renovations at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and it unfolded despite Powell’s term as chair ending next month. Powell, breaking from his typically measured approach, called the Justice Department investigation "unprecedented" and framed it as part of Trump's pressure campaign on the Fed to cut interest rates and his fiery…