Tillis says he's ready to move forward with Warsh's nomination for Fed chair

Washington — Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Sunday that he is prepared to move forward with the nomination of Kevin Warsh for chairman of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, bringing an end to his blockade on nominations to the central bank. Tillis, a Republican who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, had vowed not to support any nomination to the Fed while the Justice Department continued its investigation into the current chairman, Jerome Powell. But U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that her office would be ending the probe into Powell and the Fed's $2.5 billion renovation of its Washington, D.C., headquarters. In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press," Tillis said he had received assurances from the Justice Department that the investigation is closed and would only be reopened if the Fed's inspector general, which is examining the renovation project, made a criminal referral. "I am prepared to move on with the confirmation of Mr. Warsh," he said. "I think he's going to be a great Fed chair." In a statement shared to X, Tillis said "it is time for the Federal Reserve to move beyond this distraction and return its full attention to its mission." "I have been clear from the start: the U.S. Attorney's Office criminal investigation into Chair Powell was a serious threat to the Fed's independence, and it needed to end before I could support Kevin Warsh's confirmation," he wrote . "I welcome the Inspector General's investigation. …