Kevin Warsh Advances Out of Senate Banking Committee 13-11 Party-Line Vote — First-Ever Party-Line Fed Chair Committee Vote in Senate History; Full Senate Floor Vote Next

The Senate Banking Committee voted **13-11 on strict party lines** on April 29 at 10:00 AM ET to advance Kevin Warsh's nomination to become Federal Reserve Chair — making it the **first-ever party-line committee vote on a Federal Reserve Chair nominee** in the Senate's history. Every Republican voted yes; every Democrat voted no. **Historical significance:** Previous Fed Chair confirmations — including those of Janet Yellen (2014), Jerome Powell (2018, 2022), Ben Bernanke (2006, 2010), and Alan Greenspan — received significant bipartisan support in committee. The unanimous partisan split on Warsh reflects the deepening politicization of the Fed's perceived independence that characterized Trump's second term. **Tillis condition resolved:** Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) had previously held up the committee vote, demanding the Department of Justice drop a criminal probe into alleged cost overruns on the Federal Reserve's Washington headquarters renovation. The DOJ dropped the investigation on April 24, clearing Tillis's condition and enabling the April 29 vote. **Path to confirmation:** Warsh now advances to the full Senate floor vote. Prediction markets immediately moved to ~92% probability of full Senate confirmation before Powell's May 15 term expiry. A floor vote was expected the week of May 4-8. If confirmed, Warsh would take over as Federal Reserve Chair as early as May 15 — with Warsh chairing the **May FOMC meeting**. **Democratic opposition:** Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called the process 'rushed' and 'unprecedented.' She argued Warsh's hawkish framework and his description of the post-COVID Fed response as 'a fatal policy error' signaled he would impose excessive austerity at the worst possible time for the US economy. **Warsh's framework:** Warsh has pledged to maintain Fed independence but has been consistently more hawkish than Powell. His nomination received bipartisan support from financial community observers who argued a new regime was needed to re-anchor inflation expectations, but it was opposed by labor economists who feared premature tightening at a time of rising unemployment (4.3%) and consumer sentiment at all-time lows (47.6 Michigan final).