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In the late hours of Friday night, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee scheduled a vote to advance President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, shortly after the Justice Department announced it was dropping its criminal probe into the current head of the central bank, Jerome Powell.

The committee vote will take place on April 29, putting megarich financier Kevin Warsh on track for full Senate confirmation by the time Powell’s term as Fed chair ends on May 15. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the banking panel, said in a statement early Saturday morning that “either the Republican majority is fooled easily or they are hoping to fool the American people,” arguing that the Justice Department only agreed to drop its widely condemned probe of Powell — for now, at least — to clear the way for Warsh’s confirmation.

“The Department of Justice threatened to restart the investigation into Fed Chair Powell at any time while continuing its probe against Gov. Lisa Cook,” said Warren. The senator pointed to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s remark on Friday that the investigation into Powell “is not necessarily dropped, it’s just being moved over to the inspector........

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