[Federal Reserve Mouthpiece: Warsh Unlikely to Appoint Cliques After Democrats Control Senate, May Only Be Serving with Existing Governors] BlockBeats reported on November 8th that Nick Timiraos, chief economics reporter for the Wall Street Journal and often referred to as the "Federal Reserve mouthpiece," wrote that if the Democratic-controlled Senate refuses to confirm any nominees, whether Kevin Warsh will have a say in Trump's next round of Fed appointments is irrelevant. Past chairs have often relied on their chosen deputies; Warsh may only be able to work with the council he will be serving. Timiras points out that the Democrats' control of the Senate may be the strongest constraint yet on Trump's attempt to reshape the Fed. Previously, checks and balances on the Fed's independence were fragmented, including Tillis's obstruction, Powell's continued tenure as a governor, and the court ruling allowing Lisa Cook to remain temporarily. Trump appointed Warsh as the new chair this spring, but the majority of council seats are still appointed by other presidents and are currently vacant. If a vacancy arises, future nominees will still need to pass the Democratic Senate test. Last year, the confirmation of Stephen Milan and the promotion of Mickey Bowman to vice chairman for banking supervision both received no Democratic votes. Walsh himself only secured one Democratic vote from Fetman. [Original link]