April 29 (UPI) -- Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick for chairman of the Federal Reserve, cleared another hurdle Wednesday as the Senate banking committee voted to send his nomination to a final confirmation vote.
The vote came after Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Carolina, dropped his block of Warsh's nomination. Tillis said he'd block any nominee until the Justice Department ended its investigation of outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that she'd drop that investigation.
The committee vote of 13-11 was fully along party lines and sends the nomination to the Republican-controlled Senate, where it will almost certainly be approved, The Washington Post reported.
Warsh served as a governor at the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2011. He has said that he will resign from several positions, including as a financial adviser to investor Stanley Druckenmiller, if he is confirmed.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the committee's ranking member, said that the vote was the first fully partisan vote on a Fed chairman, CNBC reported. Warren warned that Warsh's confirmation would damage the Federal Reserve's independence.
