'Do the math': GOP senator vows to sink Trump's Fed chair pick

President Donald Trump has nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chairman of the Fed. But one Republican senator is threatening to make sure Warsh never gets confirmed out of his committee.

Semafor reported Friday that outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) – who is not running for another term in November – is signaling he will vote against Warsh's confirmation in the Senate Banking Committee, where he is one of 13 Republican members on the 25-member body. Tillis maintains that he won't vote to confirm any of Trump's nominees to the Federal Reserve until the Department of Justice calls off its investigation into Powell.

"I actually sent a note to the president saying, ‘It’s a great pick,'" Tillis told Semafor. "But I'm not changing."

Assuming all 12 Democrats on the committee vote no, Warsh would be unable to advance to the full Senate for a majority vote. The rules of the Senate allow for the full body to vote on a presidential appointee's confirmation with 60 votes, though that would require eight Democrats (assuming TIllis' opposition remains in place) to cross the partisan aisle.

While Vice President JD Vance can cast a tie-breaking vote if the body is tied at a 50-50 split, Tillis suggested some of his Republican colleagues "understand the profound importance of Fed independence" and privately disagree with Trump's brow-beating of Powell. He told the outlet: "I’m pretty sure that they wouldn’t get 51 [votes]."

"This could have been frictionless," the two-term North Carolina Republican said. "But if they choose friction, what else can I do except create more friction?"

Tillis quipped that when Republicans asked about the holdup on Trump's nominees, he flatly responded: "I'm not running for reelection." And he said his hold could last until "the next Congress," hinting that Republicans may no longer have the numbers to advance Trump's nominees after 2027.

"[T]hat Congress may or may not be with the Senate Republican majority," the retiring senator said. "Do the math."

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