president Donald Trump’s The choice of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve shifts attention to the Senate, where confirmation could be delayed by Republican opposition linked to a criminal investigation of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

Warsh would succeed Powell, whose term expires in May, but must first be confirmed by a simple majority in the Senate, a process that typically begins with a hearing and vote in the Senate Banking Committee.

Former US Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh in Sun Valley, Idaho, US, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. Thom Tillis RN.C., doubled down on Friday, saying he will oppose the confirmation of any Federal Reserve nominee until the Trump administration concludes its criminal investigation into Powell. Tillis’ resistance carries particular weight given his seat on the Senate Banking Committee.

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“Kevin Warsh is a qualified candidate with a deep understanding of monetary policy. Yet the Department of Justice continues to criminally investigate Chairman Jerome Powell based on committee testimony that no reasonable person could interpret as possessing criminal intent,” Tillis wrote in a post on X.

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“Protecting the Federal Reserve’s independence from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable,” Tillis added.

With Tillis holding on Warsh nominationthe only way to force it out of the Senate Banking Committee would be through a Senate discharge vote, a move that requires 60 votes and is unlikely in a deeply divided Senate, especially amid tensions over the Powell investigation.

Moreover, his potential ascension to lead the world’s most powerful central bank comes during a period of unusual tension.

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President Donald Trump speaks with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell during a tour of the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (Official White House photo by Daniel Torok)

What began as tension over interest rate policy has now turned into a full-blown showdown, marking the most challenging moment of Powell’s eight-year leadership of the Federal Reserve.

On January 11, Powell confirmed that the Department of Justice had opened a criminal investigation into his testimony to Congress related to the renovation of the two main historic Federal Reserve buildings on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

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Powell called the move “unprecedented” in a video statement and another example of what he described as Trump’s continued threats to the central bank. His decision to respond so publicly, after days of private consultations with advisers, marked an abrupt departure from his typically measured approach.

On Wednesday, Powell, who addressed reporters for the first time since the opening of the criminal investigation, said his advice to the next Fed chair would be to stay out of elected politics. He also reiterated the importance of an independent central bank.

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Powell, widely regarded as one of the most crisis-tested Federal Reserve chairmen in modern US history, built his career as a lawyer and investment banker in New York before entering public service in the administration of President George HW Bush.

He joined the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2012 and was appointed by Trump to lead the central bank in 2017.