The Senate Banking Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to approve Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, positioning him to replace current chair Jerome Powell, a frequent target of criticism from President Donald Trump over interest rate policy.

The vote was 13-11, with all Republican senators backing the nomination

and Democrats voting against it. Warsh previously served as a top Fed official but has also sharply criticized the institution and Jerome Powell’s leadership. He has argued that the inflation surge to 9.1% in 2022 marked the central bank’s biggest policy mistake in four decades.

A full Senate vote is not expected until next month, though he could be confirmed before Powell’s term as chair ends May 15, the Associated Press reported.

The committee vote was the first of two major developments involving the Fed’s leadership this week. Also Wednesday, Jerome Powell was set to preside over what could be his final meeting of the Fed’s rate-setting committee as chair. During an afternoon news conference, Powell signaled he would take the virtually unprecedented step of remaining on the central bank’s Board of Governors after his term expires.

By staying on the Board, Powell deprives Trump of the opportunity to name a new member. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shredded Powell’s decision in an interview with Fox Business host and former first-term Trump economist Larry Kudlow.

 “It is unusual for soon-to-be-former Fed Chair Jay Powell to stay on at the @federalreserve. For someone who speaks so often of norms, his unilateral decision to stay flies in the face of tradition,” Walsh posted on the X platform along with a video clip of his interview.

“Kevin Warsh will bring about a new day at the Fed, with accountability, management, and sound policymaking in the lead,” he added.

Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican and chair of the Banking Committee, meanwhile, praised Warsh as “battle tested” and added that, “It is incredibly important that we break the bind of Bidenomics on households across this nation,” he added.

It is unusual for soon-to-be-former Fed Chair Jay Powell to stay on at the @federalreserve. For someone who speaks so often of norms, his unilateral decision to stay flies in the face of tradition.

Kevin Warsh will bring about a new day at the Fed, with accountability,… pic.twitter.com/QAxbwqNo2S

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) April 29, 2026

The vote came the same day Powell and the Fed decided to leave interest rates at their current 3.6 percent level, once again defying Trump’s call for a lower rate.

In March, a federal judge blocked the Justice Department’s effort to issue

grand jury subpoenas targeting the Federal Reserve Board. The judge concluded the move appeared to be an attempt to pressure Powell.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who has issued a number of rulings against the Trump administration, made the determination in a newly unsealed ruling. He said prosecutors failed to present evidence that Powell committed any crime, Fox News reported.

Boasberg wrote that the subpoenas appeared to serve an improper purpose. He suggested the effort was intended to pressure Powell into lowering interest rates or stepping down.

“Did prosecutors issue those subpoenas for a proper purpose? The Court finds that they did not. There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will,” he wrote.

The dispute stems from a criminal inquiry opened earlier this year by U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro. The investigation focused on Powell’s June 2025 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

That testimony centered on the Federal Reserve’s long-running renovation project at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Powell disclosed the existence of the investigation in January and described it as an attack on the central bank’s independence.

Pirro responded Friday by announcing that the Justice Department will appeal the ruling. She accused Boasberg of interfering with the legal process.

“This process has been arbitrarily undermined by an activist judge,” Pirro said, arguing further that the ruling improperly blocked prosecutors from pursuing the case.