Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the Senate should move to promote Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, despite an ongoing federal criminal investigation into current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
Bessent said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he was confident he would “move forward” with a nomination hearing after speaking with Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee this week.
“I think it’s important that we start a public hearing, and I think we’re in agreement to do that,” he said.
Sen. Thom Tillis, RN.C., vowed to block Warsh’s nomination from passing the Banking Committee unless the Justice Department drops its investigation into Powell.
But President Trump said the criminal investigation, led by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, would continue until the end and could reach an impasse. Powell, who was appointed by President Trump during his first term, has refused to raise rates as much as his administration has urged.
Mr. Tillis also rejected a proposal floated this week to move the investigation into Mr. Powell from the Justice Department to the Banking Committee.
Bessent told CNBC that the White House “has no influence over the work of the D.C. U.S. Attorney.”
“What I was proposing was that the Senate Banking Committee also investigate” the Powell issue, Bessent said, focusing on Powell’s past testimony regarding cost overruns from ongoing renovations to the Fed’s headquarters.
“We’ll see how the investigation with Jeanine Pirro’s office goes. A subpoena was also issued. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there are charges,” he said.
“They reached out to the Fed via email in December and didn’t get a response, and then they issued a subpoena. So we’ll see what that situation is.”
“My understanding is that we are going to proceed with the hearing,” Bessent said after meeting privately with Senate Republicans on Tuesday.
