U.S. Treasury Secretary Advances Fed Chair Nomination, Expects Senate Hearing for Warsh

Stock News
Feb 13

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that he expects President Trump's nominee for Federal Reserve Chair to receive a hearing, despite a disagreement with a Republican senator. Bessent stated on Friday that he met with a group of Republican senators on Tuesday and reached an agreement to hold a hearing for former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh. Senator Thom Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee responsible for reviewing Fed nominations, has vowed to block any appointments to the central bank until the Justice Department concludes its investigation into the Fed's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project. "Senator Tillis wants to prevent any vote," Bessent said, referring to a vote before the full Senate, outside the Banking Committee. "But I believe it's important to start the hearings. And I think we have an agreement on that." Due to partisan divisions within the committee, and based on past practice, without Tillis's support, Warsh's nomination cannot advance to the full Senate for consideration unless a Democrat joins the other Republican members. Earlier this week, Tillis rejected a suggestion for the Senate Banking Committee to conduct its own investigation into Fed Chair Powell's testimony regarding the renovation project, instead of the Justice Department's probe. Bessent himself declined to comment on the Justice Department case but noted that although a subpoena has been issued to the Fed, "that does not necessarily mean there is an accusation." He also mentioned that Senate Banking Committee Chairman, Republican Tim Scott, had stated that Powell "made one mistake: incompetence." Powell's term as Fed Chair ends in May. Last month, he linked the Justice Department investigation to pressure from the Trump administration on the Fed to lower interest rates. Since December, Fed policymakers have held the benchmark interest rate steady, while Trump has continuously called for further monetary policy easing. Bessent stated that inflation is declining and predicted that "we may return to near the Fed's 2% target level around the middle of this year." The Treasury Secretary also reiterated that, based on fourth-quarter GDP data, growth in 2025 could exceed 3%.

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