Trump administration

The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Kevin Warsh to lead the central bank. Warsh will take the reins from Jerome Powell, who said he will remain on the Federal Reserve Board.

Market watchers say that the economy as a whole is holding up under higher energy prices and do not expect a recession. Even so, observers are watching financial markets and consumer spending for signs that inflation expectations are taking hold.

The new law, which will mandate the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve or deny loan applications within 30 days, passed with wide bipartisan support.

Market watchers think Jerome Powell will maintain a low-key presence on the Fed board as he awaits the release of an inspector general report examining cost overruns at the central bank's headquarters.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told reporters Wednesday that he would remain on the Fed board after his term as chair expires next month, resolving the last and most significant open question about his departure and the onset of Kevin Warsh's leadership at the central bank.

Kevin Warsh's nomination to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve passed through the Senate Banking committee in a party-line vote.

The Federal Open Market Committee's April meeting — likely Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's last — is unanimously expected to keep interest rates steady, but questions about energy, inflation and the upcoming transition in leadership still loom.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said on Sunday that he no longer opposes Kevin Warsh's nomination to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve following the Justice Department's announced closure of its inquiry into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Fintech firm IntraFi's most recent quarterly survey of bank executives showed rising pessimism among bankers related to "instability in Washington," as well as growing concerns about technology-enabled fraud.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a social media post Friday morning that the Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, clearing a path for Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Powell's replacement.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday defended cuts to the Community Development Financial Institution Fund in the president's 2027 budget, telling the Senate Appropriations Committee that the program had pursued a "partisan wish list."

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, denied that he would act as Trump's "sock puppet" if he's confirmed and said the president has directed him to lower interest rates.

The former Fed governor's upcoming confirmation hearing will test whether he can satisfy both a president demanding lower rates and a Congress demanding independence.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told the House Budget Committee Wednesday that the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund is still a target for elimination by the administration because it promotes "woke" ideology.

President Donald Trump said he would fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not resign after his term as head of the central bank ends in May. Trump made a similar threat against Fed Gov. Lisa Cook before attempting to fire her last August.

Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is pushing the Federal Reserve for records related to Fed chair-designate Kevin Warsh's actions as a member of the Fed board during the 2008 financial crisis.

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles, who served during President Trump's first term, said members of the Fed board should be removable by the president, but that the decentralized structure of the Fed will ensure that monetary policy decisions remain sound.

The White House's proposed 2027 budget would slash funding to the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, the latest in an ongoing campaign from the Trump administration to dismantle the politically popular program.

A recent executive order encouraging changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Ability-To-Repay and Qualified Mortgage rules are adding to a packed agenda at a time when the agency has lost a third of its staff.

What was once a bipartisan and broadly popular housing bill has been weighed down with a pair of provisions that banks can't support. Even with those headwinds, the bill is more likely than not to pass, but not without drawn-out negotiations between the House and Senate.