The U.S. Treasury Secretary is pushing for the nomination process of the new chairman of the Federal Reserve, with Powell expected to receive a hearing in the Senate.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bennett said that despite disagreements with a Republican senator, he expects that President Trump's nominee for Federal Reserve Chair will receive a hearing. Bennett stated on Friday that he met with a group of Republican senators on Tuesday and reached an agreement to hold a hearing for former Federal Reserve Board member Kevin Wash. Senator Tom Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee responsible for reviewing Federal Reserve nominations, vowed to pause any appointments to the central bank until the Justice Department's investigation into a $25 million renovation of its headquarters is complete. Bennett said, "Senator Tillis wants to block any vote," referring to a vote outside the Senate Banking Committee, in the full Senate session. "But I think it's important to have the hearing. And I think we have reached an agreement on this." Due to partisan divisions within the committee, without Tillis's support, Wash's nomination cannot be submitted to the full Senate for consideration, unless some Democrats join other Republican members. Earlier this week, Tillis rejected a suggestion for the Senate Banking Committee to conduct its own investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's testimony on the renovation project, in place of the Justice Department's investigation. Bennett declined to comment on the Justice Department case himself, but noted that despite subpoenas being issued to the Fed, "it doesn't necessarily mean charges are pending." He also mentioned that Senate Banking Committee Chairman, Republican Tim Scott, had said that Powell "did something wrong: incompetence." Powell's term as Federal Reserve Chair ends in May. Last month, he linked the Justice Department's investigation to pressure from the Trump administration to lower interest rates. Since December, Federal Reserve policymakers have kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged, while Trump has continued to call for further easing of monetary policy. Bennett stated that inflation is decreasing and predicted that "we may return to the Fed's target level of 2% by mid-year." The US Treasury Secretary also reiterated that based on fourth-quarter GDP data, growth rates in 2025 may exceed 3%.