U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) attends a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s annual report to Congress on February 5, 2026, at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Federal Reserve chair candidate Kevin Warsh is scheduled to meet this week with Republican senators who have blocked his nomination over President Donald Trump’s attacks on the central bank.
Warsh will meet with North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, the senator’s office said Monday. Warsh also plans to meet with Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), the senator told CNBC.
The Senate Banking Committee, on which Messrs. Cramer and Tillis serve, oversees Fed nominations. Other meetings with committee members are also scheduled this week.
Mr. Tillis praised Mr. Warsh’s acumen as a candidate for Fed chair, but said he would not vote to confirm the Fed’s nominee until the Justice Department discontinues its criminal investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell. Mr. Powell argued that the investigation was an excuse to punish President Trump for refusing to cut interest rates at his request.
Tillis is scheduled to retire at the end of his term next year.
Warsh did not respond to requests for comment.
Chairman Powell’s term ends on May 15, but he can continue to serve as Fed director until January 2028.
Mr. Powell led the Fed in a series of rate cuts, keeping the overnight policy rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%. President Trump wants to lower that to below 1%.
The oil turmoil caused by the Iran war has some Fed officials questioning whether the central bank will be able to continue lowering rates this year. Investors overwhelmingly expect the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged at next week’s meeting.
But Warsh is likely to seek cuts as soon as he takes over, regardless of the oil situation.
—Emily Wilkins contributed to this report.
