April 27 (Reuters) – The Senate Banking Committee is expected on Wednesday to advance Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Federal Reserve Chair to the full Senate, with a vote now set for 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).
The timing – which comes as Fed policymakers will be nearing the end of their two-day policy-setting meeting under current chair Jerome Powell — increases the chances that Warsh will be in place by the time Powell’s leadership term ends on May 15, and to run the Fed’s next meeting, in June.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis dropped his block on the Warsh confirmation process on Sunday, after the Department of Justice ended an investigation into Powell that Tillis felt was a threat to the Fed’s independence.
All of the panel’s Democrats oppose Warsh’s nomination, but with Tillis the Republicans outnumber them 13 to 11. Republicans are also the majority in the full Senate.
(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
