Overview
- New York Fed President John Williams said the Fed’s rate-setting committee will see no leadership gap, with Jerome Powell remaining in charge if Kevin Warsh is not confirmed.
- President Trump nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to take over in May, yet a key Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis, says he will not back any new chair until legal questions tied to the probe are resolved.
- The Justice Department’s investigation into cost overruns at Fed headquarters triggered subpoenas for Powell that a judge blocked, and an appeals court later upheld that ruling.
- Powell has said he would serve as chair pro tem if his successor is not confirmed by the end of his term, and he plans to stay on as a Fed governor through 2028 until the investigation concludes.
- The FOMC chair is selected by a vote of Fed officials, a rarely noted step that could determine who leads meetings if a new chair is not in place.