Tillis Says He Will Vote To Confirm Kevin Warsh As Fed Chair

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Sunday he will support Kevin Warsh’s nomination to chair the Federal Reserve now that the Justice Department has dropped an investigation into current central bank chief Jerome Powell, clearing the way for Warsh to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

“I have been clear from the start: the U.S. Attorney’s Office criminal investigation into Chair Powell was a serious threat to the Fed’s independence, and it needed to end before I could support Kevin Warsh’s confirmation,” Tillis said in a statement Sunday.

The Justice Department moved Friday to drop the investigation into Powell, which centered around cost overruns related to renovations of the Fed’s Washington headquarters. The move came after a federal judge, James Boasberg, quashed subpoenas the DOJ issued to the Fed.

Tillis, who is retiring after his term ends this year, said he welcomes a separate investigation being conducted by the Fed inspector general, calling it “a necessary and appropriate measure.”

“I take the Department of Justice at its word: the investigation is closed, and any appeal of Judge Boasberg’s ruling will be with respect to legal principles and not for the purpose of reissuing subpoenas,” he wrote. “Only a criminal referral from the inspector general would cause a reopening of the investigation.”

In an interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Tillis said he has “had a number of discussions with the Department of Justice," and officials "have made it very clear that the current investigation is completely and fully ended."

"We worked a lot over the weekend to make sure that we were very clear that we had the assurances from the DOJ that I needed to feel like they were not using the DOJ as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed," Tillis told host Kristen Welker.

He said he expects the DOJ to appeal Boasberg’s ruling quashing the DOJ's subpoenas, but that he has been assured "that that appeal is simply to challenge the basis" for his rulings. "It would not in any way constitute a basis for reopening the investigation," he said.

The Senate Banking Committee, where Tillis has a decisive vote, is set to advance Warsh’s nomination Wednesday. Tillis has praised Warsh’s qualifications for the Fed.

“He is an outstanding nominee, and it is time for the Federal Reserve to move beyond this distraction and return its full attention to its mission,” he said Sunday.