Kevin Warsh has turned in the paperwork the U.S. Senate customarily expects from a nominee to the Federal Reserve chair, moving him nearer to a formal hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, according to media reports that cited people familiar with the matter.
The documentation filing represents a procedural milestone toward a hearing that the committee would normally schedule once it has a nominee's financial disclosures on file. As of late Monday, the nominee's financial disclosures had not appeared on the U.S. Office of Government Ethics website, and a spokesman for the Senate Banking Committee declined to comment on the status.
The Banking Committee also asks nominees to complete a detailed questionnaire, though there are precedents for the panel holding a hearing before every item of paperwork is in hand. Under the committee's rules, it must provide five business days' notice before convening a hearing - a timetable that makes next week the earliest possible window for Warsh to appear before senators if scheduling follows standard practice.
Even if a hearing is scheduled promptly, the pace of a full-Senate confirmation vote remains unclear. One key Republican senator has pledged to block Warsh's confirmation until a Department of Justice investigation into Jerome Powell's oversight of renovations at the Fed's Washington headquarters concludes. The article's reporting noted there has been little sign of progress in that investigation so far.
Legal developments in the probe include a federal judge's decision to quash Department of Justice subpoenas, on the grounds that the inquiry amounted to an effort to pressure Powell to lower interest rates or resign. The Justice Department has said it will appeal that ruling.
Powell's term as Fed chair is scheduled to end on May 15. He has said he would continue serving in the position on a pro tem basis if his successor is not confirmed and installed by that date.
Context and next steps
The submission of required paperwork is a necessary administrative step that typically precedes a committee hearing. The committee's five-business-day notice rule sets a minimum lead time for scheduling. The unresolved Justice Department matter and the stated intent of at least one senator to block confirmation introduce uncertainty into how quickly the nomination can move from committee to a full Senate vote.