Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Senate Republicans on Friday to move forward with confirmation hearings for Kevin M. Warsh, President Trump’s pick to be the next Federal Reserve chair, and suggested that Jerome H. Powell, the current chair, might not face criminal charges related to his handling of the renovations of the central bank’s headquarters.
The comments, made on CNBC, underscored the urgency the Trump administration is feeling as it looks to replace Mr. Powell, whose term expires this year, with Mr. Warsh. Mr. Bessent said that the Senate could open its own investigation into Mr. Powell and suggested that the outcome of the criminal inquiry was not yet clear. Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, is holding up the process of confirming Mr. Warsh because he thinks the investigation into Mr. Powell is not legitimate.
“There were subpoenas issued, but that doesn’t have to mean that there are charges,” Mr. Bessent said on CNBC.
He said he had discussed the idea of a Senate investigation with Republican lawmakers this week. The Treasury secretary added that the White House did not have influence on the fate of the investigation.
The inquiry was initiated by the U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia and approved in November by Jeanine Pirro, a longtime ally of Mr. Trump’s who was appointed to run the office last year.
“We’ll see where the investigation goes with Jeanine Pirro’s office,” Mr. Bessent said.
He said he believed the Senate Banking Committee would still hold confirmation hearings for Mr. Warsh. However, Mr. Tillis, who is a member of that committee, has the power to prevent the nomination from proceeding to the full Senate for a vote.
The criminal inquiry represented a striking incursion on the independence of the Federal Reserve and muddled Mr. Bessent’s hopes of steering a smooth transition process at the central bank. The Treasury secretary led the process of finding a successor for Mr. Powell, who still has the option of remaining on the Fed’s board of governors until 2028, and has been calling for sweeping reforms to the central bank.
Mr. Tillis indicated this week that he had no intention of backing down from his pledge to block Mr. Warsh’s nomination while Mr. Powell was under investigation.
“We have to have an independent Fed,” Mr. Tillis said on Thursday. “They either need to move forward with a compelling investigation that convinces me I was wrong, or resolve the current investigation and move on.”
Alan Rappeport is an economic policy reporter for The Times, based in Washington. He covers the Treasury Department and writes about taxes, trade and fiscal matters.
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