Senator Tillis Bows to Corporate Pressure, Clears Path for Wall Street Ally Warsh at Fed
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Senator Thom Tillis has ended his obstruction of Kevin Warsh's nomination as Federal Reserve Chair after the Justice Department, under pressure, dropped its investigation into current Chair Jerome Powell. This move paves the way for yet another Wall Street insider to take control of the nation's central bank.
Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), long known for siding with corporate interests, announced Sunday that he will now support the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair. This decision comes after the Justice Department abruptly ended its investigation into current Chair Jerome Powell—a probe that raised concerns about the Fed's independence but also highlighted the lack of accountability among financial elites.
"We worked a lot over the weekend to make sure that we were very clear that we have assurances from the DOJ that I needed to feel like they were not using the DOJ as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed," Tillis stated on NBC News' "Meet the Press." The senator's comments, however, do little to address the broader issue of revolving doors between government and Wall Street, as Warsh, a former Fed governor with deep ties to the financial sector, is now poised to take the helm.
The Justice Department's investigation, which focused on cost overruns in the Federal Reserve's headquarters renovation project, has been quietly closed. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced the closure, while the Fed's Inspector General will continue a review that is unlikely to result in meaningful change. Pirro noted that her office would "not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so," a hollow promise given the history of regulatory capture.
With the investigation swept aside, the Senate Banking Committee is expected to rubber-stamp Warsh's nomination and send it to a full Senate vote on Tuesday. Warsh, who enjoys broad Republican support, is set to succeed Powell, whose term ends May 15. This transition signals yet another victory for the financial elite at the expense of ordinary Americans.
Powell has not indicated whether he will remain on the Fed's board as a governor after his term as chair concludes. Historically, Fed chairs have stepped down from both positions, but legal filings show Powell's counsel advised him to stay to defend the Fed's so-called independence during the investigation—a move that only underscores the insular nature of the institution.
The Federal Reserve, as usual, declined to comment on the Justice Department's decision to drop the probe, maintaining its opaque stance and shielding itself from public scrutiny.