Senate Banking Committee to Vote on Powell Nomination Tuesday

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the nomination of Jerome Powell to be the next Federal Reserve chairman, the panel said Thursday.

If approved by the committee, Mr. Powell's nomination would advance to the full Senate for a vote, though it is unclear whether that vote would take place before lawmakers leave Washington for the holidays.

Mr. Powell would succeed Chairwoman Janet Yellen when her four-year term ends Feb. 3 if he is confirmed by the Senate.

Mr. Powell, who has served as a Fed governor since 2012, is expected to face a smooth path to confirmation. The Senate has voted twice in recent years to confirm him to the Fed's board with broad bipartisan support, and no senator has announced plans to vote against him.

"During his years of service in government and in the private sector, governor Powell has proven he is qualified to lead the Fed," committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R., Idaho) said at a hearing on Mr. Powell's confirmation Tuesday.

At his confirmation hearing Tuesday, Mr. Powell signaled he largely would stick to the monetary policy path laid out by Ms. Yellen, including likely raising interest rates at the Fed's December meeting and gradually lifting them over the next two years.

Write to Kate Davidson at kate.davidson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 30, 2017 17:57 ET (22:57 GMT)