Trump's nominee for the post,
Kevin Warsh, has a confirmation hearing scheduled for next week, but Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told NBC News on Tuesday night that he will not vote to advance his nomination until the Justice Department drops its ongoing criminal investigation into Powell.
Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said the investigation into Powell over expensive renovations at Fed properties appears to have been launched solely to try to curry favor with the White House, and "I don't want to reward bad behavior."
"Kevin’s a perfect candidate, and that’s why it’s so frustrating that somebody in DOJ in February, decided that they were going to maybe garner favor from somebody in the White House by trying to invoke a criminal investigation against Jerome Powell," Tillis said, adding that the moment DOJ announces there's not sufficient evidence to continue an investigation, "I will vote for Kevin Warsh."