Senator Thom Tillis lifted his blockade of Kevin Warsh’s Federal Reserve nomination on April 27 after the Department of Justice closed its criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, clearing the way for a Senate Banking Committee vote on Wednesday and a likely full Senate vote before Powell’s term expires on May 15.
Tillis had held the nomination since January, saying the DOJ probe into alleged cost overruns on the Fed’s headquarters renovation threatened the Fed’s independence. The block left the 13-to-11 Republican-majority Banking Committee deadlocked, since a single Republican defection could have stalled Warsh’s advancement. US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro announced the office was closing the investigation and transferring oversight of the renovation to the Fed inspector general, who had been reviewing the project since last July. Tillis said DOJ officials assured him the probe was “completely and fully ended” and any future investigation would require a criminal referral from the inspector general.
At his April 21 confirmation hearing, Warsh pledged to act as an “independent actor” and said he had made no commitments to the White House on interest rate decisions. The nomination now moves to a committee vote Wednesday, with a full Senate vote expected to follow in a compressed timeline—Powell’s chair term ends May 15—and Democrats remain unified in opposition.
Warsh is widely seen as the most crypto-literate potential Fed chair in history. Financial disclosures show indirect venture fund stakes across DeFi lending, decentralized derivatives, Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, prediction markets, and Bitcoin payments infrastructure. He has said Bitcoin can exert a positive disciplinary effect on economic policy and acknowledged that digital assets are already part of the financial services industry. As confirmation odds improved, Bitcoin rose roughly 10% to trade near $78,000 in recent weeks, and market prediction odds that had fallen while Tillis blocked the nomination are expected to rebound.
The Federal Open Market Committee is also scheduled to meet on Wednesday, with markets widely expecting interest rates to remain unchanged. If Warsh is not confirmed before May 15, Powell has indicated he would remain a voting member of the Fed’s board until January 2028, preserving continuity even if confirmation slips.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the investigation’s transfer to the Fed inspector general and said the DOJ would only reopen the probe if the inspector general uncovered evidence of criminal conduct and issued a formal referral. Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Warsh as a “sock puppet” and urged Republicans who claim to value Fed independence not to move the nomination forward.