Kevin Warsh was confirmed Wednesday as the next Federal Reserve Chair by the U.S. Senate, in a vote that was mostly along party lines.
The 54-45 vote comes after months of uncertainty because of a DOJ criminal investigation of outgoing Chief Jerome Powell, whose term ends Friday. The Senate has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents aligned with the Democratic caucus.
On Tuesday, The Senate voted 51-45 to confirm Warsh to a 14-year term as one of the Fed’s seven governors. Warsh’s term as Fed governor will run until 2040. Two Democrats voted for Warsh’s confirmation as a board governor.
President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Kevin Warsh to be Federal Reserve Chair on Jan. 30. The formal nomination later was submitted to the Senate on March 4.
The nomination process was not without hurdles, with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., threatening to block any Fed nominations until a DOJ investigation in Powell was ended.
Tillis Ended Blockade
In late April, Tillis said would end his blockade of Warsh after the U.S. Department of Justice dropped its criminal investigation of Powell, who they were investigating over his testimony before Congress about cost-overruns on construction of a new Federal Reserve building.
With Tillis’s support, Warsh’s confirmation was all but assured.
Warsh cleared the Senate Banking Committee in a vote that followed party lines. The committee is composed of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
Powell announced that he will stay on as a Fed Governor after he leaves the Chair position.
Warsh took the board seat held by Stephen Miran, a Trump adviser who was confirmed to the Fed last September to fill a vacancy created by an early resignation. Miran’s term technically ended in January, but Miran was allowed to remain on the board until his successor was confirmed.
Warsh is returning to the Fed after a five-year stint as a governor that ended in 2011, spanning the global financial crisis, CBS said.
Since leaving the Fed, Warsh has worked as a Hoover Institution fellow and an adviser for billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller. Warsh’s is the wealthiest Fed Chair ever, with a net worth exceeding $100 million. He is married to Jane Lauder, the billionaire granddaughter of cosmetics magnate Estée Lauder.
