Tillis Ends Blockade of Trump’s Fed Chair Nom After DOJ Drops Powell Investigation

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said Sunday he will drop his blockade and get onboard to confirm Kevin Warsh’s nomination to chair the Federal Reserve after the Justice Department dropped an investigation into current central bank chief Jerome Powell.

“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 social media statement Sunday.

The sham investigation came out of the U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia, run by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, and stemmed from costs associated with renovations of Federal Reserve buildings. 

Pirro in a statement posted Friday on X said she’d directed her office to close its investigation into Powell because the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve would be handling any inquiries into alleged overrun costs.

Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee which approves Federal Reserve nominees, mounted his blockade of any Trump Fed pick after the administration launched the bogus criminal investigation into Powell as first reported in early January. With a 13-11 split, Tillis’ refusal to vote for Warsh made the senator the deciding vote and halted Trump’s bid to replace Powell.

The Republican senator, who is set to retire when his term ends this year, has spoken out strongly against the investigation. The Justice Department issued subpoenas against Powell, which a federal judge rejected in a scathing opinion, saying the administration had presented zero evidence against the Fed chair. Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for D.C. went farther, finding the investigation was designed to “harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign.”

Warsh came before the Banking Committee for a nomination hearing last week. During the hearing, Tillis spent all of his time explaining why the renovation costs, which had grown to $2.5 billion, were not the result of any criminal behavior. Tillis then took the opportunity to give Trump an off-ramp to end the investigation without having too much egg on his face.

“Big DOJ didn’t know about it,” Tillis said of the investigation. “The president didn’t know about it. Let’s get rid of this investigation so I can support your confirmation.”

“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,” Tillis said in his Sunday statement. “Only a criminal referral from the inspector general would cause a reopening of the investigation.”

The Justice Department’s word might not be all that reassuring. In her statement dropping the investigation, Pirro warned that her office could reopen a criminal investigation depending on what the Inspector General investigation reveals.

“Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so,” Pirro said.

With Tillis out of the way, the Senate Banking Committee is expected to vote and advance Warsh’s nomination to the Senate floor on Wednesday.