Tillis backs Warsh after Justice Department drops Powell renovation probe

Senator Thom Tillis said he was prepared to support Kevin Warsh’s nomination for Federal Reserve chair after the Justice Department dropped its investigation into Jerome Powell, removing the obstacle that had kept the North Carolina Republican from backing the pick.

The reversal came after federal prosecutors ended the probe on Friday, April 24, 2026, and said the Federal Reserve’s inspector general would take over reviewing possible cost overruns tied to the central bank’s Washington headquarters renovation. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her office would close its investigation but could reopen it if new facts warranted, a signal that eased one of the most politically volatile parts of the fight over the next Fed chief.

Tillis had said he would not support any nominee until the inquiry was shut down. He had argued that the investigation risked looking like political intimidation of the Federal Reserve and could unsettle markets at a moment when investors are watching closely for any sign that monetary policy is becoming a partisan weapon. His support now matters because Republicans hold only a 13-11 majority on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, making his vote central to moving Warsh out of committee.

The inquiry itself had become a broader Washington flashpoint. The Fed’s headquarters renovation has been reported at about $2.5 billion and is slated for completion in 2027, making it an easy target for critics looking to press Powell over spending, oversight and the central bank’s independence. By shifting the review to the Fed inspector general, prosecutors effectively lowered the temperature around a case that had spilled from construction oversight into the politics of the nation’s central bank.

Warsh, who testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, April 21, said he was committed to preserving the strict independence of monetary policy while also arguing that the Fed should stay in its lane. He previously served on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011, giving him both institutional familiarity and a record likely to appeal to senators looking for continuity without Powell’s baggage.

Powell’s term as Fed chair is scheduled to end on May 15, 2026, and the administration is seeking to install Warsh as his successor. Tillis’s shift gives that effort new momentum and shows how a single prosecutorial decision can clear the way for a nomination that now carries real implications for the future of monetary-policy leadership.