On the 29th (local time), the nomination of Kevin Warsh, a candidate to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve (Fed), cleared the Senate Banking Committee.
The Associated Press said the Senate Banking Committee held a meeting and approved the nomination of Warsh.
All 13 Republican members of the committee voted in favor, while 11 Democratic members voted against. Tom Tillis (North Carolina), a Republican who had opposed the nomination earlier, cast a yes vote that day.
The confirmation will be finalized after a vote by the full Senate. If the process is completed, nominee Warsh is expected to take office on the 15th of next month, when the term of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell ends.
At his confirmation hearing on the 21st, nominee Warsh said, "Presidents tend to prefer rate cuts, but the Fed's independence is up to the Fed," signaling that the Fed would decide currency policy independently.
Chair Powell is scheduled to preside over a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that day to set the benchmark interest rate. With this expected to be the last FOMC chaired by Powell, odds favor a rate hold.