President Donald Trump on Monday said a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell should continue, shrugging off a Republican senator’s vow to block Trump’s Fed chair replacement pick unless the probe is dropped.
U.S. Attorney for Washington Jeanine Pirro, who is leading the unprecedented probe of the central bank chairman, should “take it to the end and see,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The president had been asked if Pirro ought to abandon her efforts in light of Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., declaring on Friday that he will oppose any new Fed nominee until the Powell investigation is fully resolved.
Tillis drew that line in the sand on the same day that Trump, after a monthslong audition process, announced Kevin Warsh as his pick to succeed Powell as Fed chair.
Tillis is a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, which has 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats. If Tillis sides with all Democrats on the panel in opposing Warsh, he could set up a stalemate that would prevent the nominee from advancing to a full Senate vote.
