WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate Banking Committee approved Kevin Warsh's nomination to serve as chair of the United States Federal Reserve. The vote split along party lines, with 13 Republicans in favor and 11 Democrats against.

Warsh is President Donald Trump's handpicked choice to succeed Jerome Powell, whose term as chair of the Fed is set to end on May 15. If confirmed, Warsh would lead the central bank starting that day. The earliest the full Senate could vote on confirmation would be May 11. Warsh previously served on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011.

Senator Thom Tillis had said he would not vote for any Trump nominee for the central bank unless a criminal investigation into Powell was dropped. Prosecutors had previously stated they found no evidence of wrongdoing by Powell, and the Department of Justice dropped its criminal investigation into him last week.

"With the Department of Justice seemingly dropping its investigation into current chair Jerome Powell, Warsh's path to the seat looks notably clearer. The noise surrounding the independence of the central bank has somewhat quietened as a result, and, on the DOJ's word, Senator Thom Tillis has dropped his hold on the Warsh nomination. As Republicans hold the Senate majority, there is the sense that Warsh's confirmation is a done deal – what's next, however, is what everyone is waiting to see," Yerbol Orynbayev, a former governor of the World Bank, said.

In December, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would only appoint to the central bank someone who agrees with him. Trump said he would fire Powell if Powell did not step down from the central bank entirely on May 15. Powell's term as a Federal Reserve governor runs through 2028.

"Trump wants Powell off the Fed entirely as soon as his term as chair comes to an end, but his term as Fed governor runs through 2028, and there are other examples of Fed chairs staying on as governor even after they conclude their term as chair. Hard not to see how Trump's threat of resignation won't loom large on Powell's decision from here," Skanda Amarnath, a former New York Fed analyst, said.

At midday trading after the announcement, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 was 0.04 percent above its opening level, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent.