Trump’s feud with Powell threatens plans to replace Federal Reserve chair

President Trump’s effort to push out Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is threatening his ability to finally replace his nemesis.

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing Tuesday for Kevin Warsh, the former Fed board member Trump nominated to replace Powell as Fed chair.

Trump has spent more than four years across two presidential terms waiting for his chance to remove Powell, whom he’s derided, berated and threatened to fire countless times.

But the Trump administration’s criminal probe into the Fed chief — widely seen as a way to push him out sooner — may keep Powell at the bank even longer than he would have been otherwise.

“Warsh’s hearing is expected to focus on his vision for the Fed, both in terms of monetary policy — a defining feature of Trump’s search for the next Fed chair — and the Fed’s balance sheet, which Warsh has promised to shrink,” analysts at Beacon Policy Advisers wrote in a Monday research note.

“But overshadowing tomorrow’s hearing is the murky path forward for Warsh’s nomination,” they added.

Warsh’s confirmation depends largely on when — and if —  the Trump administration drops its sputtering criminal investigation into Powell’s oversight of renovations at Fed facilities.

Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has vowed to block any Trump Fed nominee, including Warsh, until the Justice Department wraps up its probe into the bank. As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Tillis can prevent Warsh from being approved by the panel for a full confirmation vote, leaving the nomination in limbo and Powell in charge of the Fed.

“Tillis is taking a strong stand, daring Trump to wait his Senate term out … and risk a Democratic Senate,” said analysts at LH Meyer/Monetary Policy Analytics in a research note. “Republicans don’t have 60 votes in the Senate to........

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