Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, told senators Tuesday that the central bank would remain "strictly independent" if he is confirmed — even as Trump has publicly pressed for the new Fed chair to lower interest rates. Warsh, a former Fed board governor, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs as the term of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell nears its end.

The path to confirmation has been complicated by a criminal probe that Trump's administration has opened into Powell over a $2.5 billion renovation project at the Federal Reserve's offices. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, has said he will vote against Warsh's nomination unless Trump directs federal prosecutors to halt what Tillis called a "bogus" investigation into Powell.

The Senate Banking Committee is made up of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats. All Democrats have indicated they plan to oppose the nomination, and with Tillis joining them, the vote would end in a tie — which would prevent Warsh's nomination from advancing to the full Senate. The committee's top Democrat, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has described Warsh as a potential instrument of the president rather than an independent steward of monetary policy.

Montana Sen. Jon Tester is no longer in office, and the state's current Senate representation on the Banking Committee and its position on the nomination were not immediately clear from available reporting. The Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions directly affect mortgage rates, farm lending, and small business borrowing costs across Montana.