Congress
Powell pardon wouldn’t end Fed blockade, Tillis says
A presidential pardon of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would not end Sen. Thom Tillis’ one-man blockade of central bank nominees, the North Carolina Republican said Tuesday.
Only the Justice Department resolving its investigation into Powell’s Senate testimony on a massive Fed renovation project would suffice, he added, doubling down on his intention to use his vote on the Senate Banking Committee as a bulwark against any attempt to dilute the bank’s independence.
Tillis is the main obstacle to the swift confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Powell as Fed chair. He has vowed to oppose any Fed nominee until the Powell investigation ends.
A pardon could be a fast and definitive way for Trump to end any legal peril for Powell, but Tillis called the idea “silly” and a “mistake” because it could imply that Powell is guilty of committing perjury during his appearance last year before the Banking Committee.
“A pardon to me almost validates the whole notion for the investigation,” Tillis said. “If they think they’ve got a valid case, then we’ll just see it through to the end.”
With Republicans holding a 13-11 majority on the Banking panel, Tillis’ opposition is enough to prevent Warsh from getting advanced out of committee unless he gets support from Democrats on the panel.
Tillis said Tuesday that he thought Warsh would be a “fine” Fed chair “at some point in the future if not this Congress, then the next Congress, if they don’t get this investigation done.”
“I’m not budging one inch,” he added. “This is foundational to Fed independence and if you reward this sort of behavior and there’s no compelling evidence that could convince me or a jury that he’s guilty of it then you’ve got to stand on Fed independence.”
Trump batted down a question Monday about whether he would ask prosecutors to drop the Powell case in order to clear a path for Warsh. He instead told reporters that Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for D.C., would “take it to the end and see.”
Responding to Trump’s remarks, Tillis said it showed “an area where we’re in agreement this week — we’re both willing to go all the way.”
House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar has formally announced his bid for House majority whip.
“With a Democratic majority, we’ll have the tools to rein in this out-of-control administration and investigate the agencies, officials and corporations that have been making life harder and more expensive for our communities,” the California Democrat wrote in a letter to colleagues Thursday. “I look forward to working with each of you to deliver on our affordability agenda.”
Aguilar is currently unopposed for the No. 3 slot in the new House Democratic majority.
As whip, Aguilar will have to stitch together an ideologically diverse caucus that could be as large as 260 members. With such a significant margin, Aguilar would have more cushion to lose votes on key legislation than Republican leaders, who have struggled to wrangle their members on party-line bills over the last two years.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts have already announced their candidacies for speaker and majority leader, respectively. They also have no challengers at this time.
Rep. French Hill, a senior Republican who barely won reelection in Little Rock this week, said President Donald Trump’s “unfavorability” is to blame for sweeping GOP losses.
The Associated Press called the race for Hill on Thursday after the six-term lawmaker and House Financial Services Committee chair faced off against Democrat Chris Jones. Hill won by less than 2 percentage points.
“President Trump’s unfavorability had a lot of impact on races across the country,” Hill said in an interview. “I think that’s evident by some of the exit polling. We had, in my judgment, recruited good candidates who had good funding for their campaigns. But it was a wave election, and we lost a lot of really good, constructive members of the House.”
It was the closest race yet for Hill, who struggled to win even as he outspent Jones, a former Arkansas gubernatorial candidate, 3 to 1. As House Financial Services chair, Hill has been instrumental the last two years in enacting bipartisan housing and cryptocurrency legislation.
During the campaign, Hill was willing to distance himself from Trump, especially when it came to touting the housing bill that the president refused to sign.
In the interview Wednesday, Hill suggested that Republicans could break further with Trump during the final two years of his term.
“He will be considered a lame duck, and that often has members of both political parties looking out at who will be the standard-bearers in the 2028 presidential election,” he said. “So, I think certainly that will influence policymaking and politics inside the House and Senate.”
Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts officially announced her bid for majority leader in a letter to colleagues Thursday.
Clark, currently the No. 2 to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, is widely considered a shoo-in among her colleagues. She is currently unopposed, and if she wins, she would be the first woman with the title and most progressive member of the top leadership trio that is also expected to include Jeffries as speaker and Rep. Pete Aguilar as whip.
In line with leadership’s campaign message, Clark emphasized “Affordability, Affordability, Affordability” in her pitch to the caucus. Specifically, she named “ending the reckless war in Iran, rescinding Trump’s tariffs, reversing Republicans’ catastrophic cuts to healthcare and food assistance, curing off their giveaways to the Epstein Class, and pursuing rigorous oversight of this corrupt administration.”
To wrangle House Democrats’ massive majority — which is tracking to reach over 255 seats — Clark vowed to members: “At every decision point, I intend to work closely with you to understand the needs of your district and maximize your ability to deliver for your constituents.”
“Democrats will succeed by working as a team.” she added.
Clark will get a vote during House Democratic leadership elections scheduled for Nov. 18 and 19.
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- Trump loyalists face off to lead a decimated House GOP
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