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 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 rhetoric against the chairman for his refusal to cave to that pressure.

FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION

In March, Powell told reporters he has “no intention of leaving” the central bank until the DOJ investigation is “fully resolved with transparency and finality.”

His term as Fed chair is set to end May 15, though he is eligible to remain on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for an additional two-year term. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors, known as the Fed board, consists of seven members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, who help set interest rate policy and oversee the central bank’s operations.

THE ONE LINE IN WARSH’S TESTIMONY SIGNALING A BREAK FROM THE FED’S STATUS QUO

Warsh has already signaled a clear break from the central bank’s current approach regardless of whether Powell remains at the Federal Reserve beyond his chairmanship.

In testimony before lawmakers on April 21, Warsh pledged to keep monetary policy “strictly independent” and said he intended to keep the central bank “in its lane,” warning that the Fed has become too involved in social policy.

He has also taken aim at what he sees as a complacent central bank, warning that large institutions are prone to inertia and that clinging to the “status quo” in a fast-moving economy is not just outdated, but dangerous.

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At the same time, he has signaled openness to closer coordination with elected leaders and work with the White House and Congress on nonmonetary matters — an approach that could reshape how the Fed operates in Washington.

How that balance is struck could define not only Warsh’s tenure, but the future direction of the institution that plays a major role in the financial lives of millions of Americans.