US Senate Banking Committee advances Kevin Warsh’s nomination

The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday advanced Kevin Warsh's nomination to succeed Jerome Powell as the next head of the Federal Reserve.

The 13-11 party-line vote clears a key procedural hurdle ahead of a final tally in the Republican-controlled Senate. It came after Sen. Thom Tillis, who sits on the committee, dropped his opposition to Warsh's nomination.

Tillis had threatened to effectively block it from advancing within the panel until the Justice Department ended its investigation into Powell for renovations at the Federal Reserve's Washington, DC headquarters because of alleged cost overruns.

"I've got confidence that this investigation is over, that [Federal Reserve Inspector General Michael] Horowitz, who I believe is one of the best inspector generals in the whole of government, is going to study this," Tillis said shortly after the vote concluded.

"He has referral power. If he believes that there was criminal activity, then he would refer it. But the fact of the matter is, this was based on two minutes of testimony. It was not criminal. Seven witnesses on this committee agreed with it. It's done," he added.

The Justice Department said Friday that it was closing its probe, and asked Horowitz to take up the matter, ending Tillis' opposition to advancing Warsh through committee.

Warsh's nomination comes at a time when the Trump administration is pushing for significant economic reforms, including lower interest rates, major tax cuts and deregulation.