Sen. Tillis Blocks Kevin Warsh Fed Chair Confirmation Over DOJ-Powell Investigation; Warsh Vows Fed Independence, 'Regime Change'

A day after Kevin Warsh's Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing (April 21), CNN reported on April 22 that his path to Federal Reserve Chair is blocked by a critical Republican holdout: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is refusing to support Warsh unless the Justice Department drops what he called a 'frivolous' investigation into outgoing Chair Jerome Powell. The Tillis holdout creates a significant confirmation obstacle with no clear resolution timeline — particularly urgent given Powell's term as Chair expires May 15, 2026. During his April 21 hearing, Warsh had testified he would NOT be President Trump's 'sock puppet,' pledging robust Fed independence and vowing to introduce 'regime change' at the Fed — including reducing the number of FOMC policy meetings per year and introducing a new inflation framework. Warsh is a known inflation hawk who has previously criticized quantitative easing and advocated for more aggressive balance sheet reduction. His confirmation would represent a significant policy shift at the Fed, coming as CPI stands at 3.3%, core PCE at 3.06%, and oil prices re-escalating. The Tillis blockage adds institutional uncertainty to an already fraught monetary policy outlook: who leads the FOMC at the April 28-29 meeting and beyond remains unresolved, layering political risk on top of the existing stagflation bind. Markets watched for any signals about whether the White House would pressure Tillis, what concessions might break the deadlock, or whether Trump might consider an alternative nominee.