Sen. Thom Tillis on April 26 said he welcomed the end of a criminal probe into the sitting chair of the Federal Reserve, and was prepared to endorse the nomination of Kevin Warsh to fill that role.
Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, had denounced the probe, which was announced in January, calling it a politically motivated step by the White House and a threat to the independence of the central bank.
While the investigation was ostensibly about cost overruns in a Fed renovation project, many observers, including Tillis, considered that pretext. President Donald Trump had repeatedly pressured Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, but Powell refused.
In a video recorded at the time the investigation was launched, Powell said, "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions – or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”
Trump nominated Warsh, a former Fed governor, in January, but Tillis said he would block the confirmation process until the investigation ended.
