Sen. Thom Tillis said Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he won't support Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee to chair the Federal Reserve, until the Justice Department finishes its investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
The North Carolina Republican, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, said, "I've tried to make it very clear that I have no intention of supporting any confirmation of any Fed board member, chair or otherwise ... until this is resolved."
Tillis has repeatedly criticized the Justice Department's probe into Powell over renovation costs at two Fed buildings in Washington, saying at the start of the investigation last month that it threatened the central bank's independence, The Hill reported.
Late last month, Trump announced Warsh as his nominee to succeed Powell, whose term expires in May. The president has consistently criticized Powell, whom he nominated during his first term, for not supporting earlier or larger interest rate cuts.
Tillis also criticized U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who brought the case against Powell.
"I think we had a ... U.S. attorney with a dream trying to get the president's attention, not even consulting with the administration and big DOJ on something that maybe they thought they'd get brownie points for," Tillis told "Face the Nation," adding that "it's not cute."
The senator emphasized that the "prosecutor should listen to the seven members, Republican members, who said they didn't see any criminal intent or activity.
"And more importantly, the prosecutor should understand that the protocol normally would be a referral from the chair or a member of the committee to say, we think a crime was committed here. We've got a crime scene where seven Republican members say no crime was committed."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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