Democratic lawmakers on the Senate banking committee urged its Republican leadership on Thursday to postpone the planned confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, the financial executive and former Fed governor Trump has nominated to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair. In a letter to banking committee chair Senator Tim Scott, the 11 Democrats called for a hearing currently scheduled for Tuesday to be delayed until investigations into Powell and Lisa Cook are closed. Powell is facing a criminal investigation into the renovations of the central bank's headquarters, which he dismissed as tied to the Fed's refusal to bow to Trump's demands.
The Trump administration tried to fire Cook, an appointee of Joe Biden, for alleged mortgage fraud, though Cook has denied wrongdoing. The president's attempt to fire Cook has made its way to the US Supreme Court, where justices appeared skeptical of the case for terminating Cook. Trump has continued to rail against James Boasberg, the chief judge of the DC district court, who blocked the US justice department from seeking testimony from Powell over his remarks to Congress on the Fed's renovation project.
A mountain of evidence suggests that the government served these subpoenas on the board to pressure its chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning.
Warsh's nomination also faces hurdles from within the president's own party, as the outgoing GOP senator Thom Tillis, a deciding vote on the banking committee, has said repeatedly he would not support any nomination as long as there is an investigation into Powell. John Thune, the Republican Senate majority leader, called on the justice to wrap up its inquiry into the Fed chair. The current status and timeline of the criminal investigations into Powell and Cook remain unclear, as does the likelihood that the confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh will be postponed.
Wacky, nasty, crooked, and totally out of control.