Republican Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters Wednesday on Capitol Hill that he would not vote on a replacement for fired Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook until her legal challenge plays out in court.
“I’m not going to consider anybody until that’s been adjudicated,” Tillis said, as first reported by Politico.
“I’m going to leave it to the courts to decide whether or not it’s legal,” the retiring North Carolinian continued. “But if in fact it is to be for cause, it’s dubious whether or not — even if these events are as they’ve been described — [they’re] a basis for cause. If it’s a move to really kind of create a partisan divide in the Fed, then I’m against it on that basis.”
President Donald Trump last week moved to fire Cook, echoing allegations of mortgage fraud initially made by Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Cook is now suing the Trump administration, arguing it lacks the authority to fire her.
“I have no interest in moves that would make the Fed really come under direct control of the executive branch,” Tillis added in a separate interview with Politico.
Tillis’ decision is particularly important because he is a potential tiebreaking vote on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which is composed of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
Tillis said he plans to meet Wednesday with Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers and a nominee for a separate Federal Reserve board seat.
If confirmed, Miran would hold the seat of recently resigned governor Adriana Kugler until Jan. 31.
“I just need to understand the strategy around what will be a relatively short stint,” Tillis said. “Do they have longer-term plans for him? Those sort of things.”