Senate panel vote on Trump nominees derailed after Warren raises background check concerns

Senate Senate panel vote on Trump nominees derailed after Warren raises background check concerns Comments: by Max Rego - 07/23/26 11:23 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Max Rego - 07/23/26 11:23 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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Lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday took the unusual step of delaying a public hearing to consider three of President Trump’s nominees, after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said their FBI background checks raised “significant questions.”

The Banking panel had a 10 a.m. hearing scheduled to consider the nominations of Christopher Phelan to chair the Council of Economic Advisers, John Crews to serve in the National Credit Union Administration and Jeffrey Ledbetter to be inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

But Warren, the top Democrat on the panel, said in her opening statement that a briefing she and committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) received from the FBI on the bureau’s background checks of the nominees left her wanting answers.

“We should put off this markup until we have confidence that the FBI has run down all the answers,” the Massachusetts Democrat remarked. “All of our colleagues on this committee, Democrats and Republicans, have a right to be fully up to speed, fully informed on these issues before being asked to vote for or against nominees.”

Noting she is “limited” in what she can say publicly on the matter, Warren asked Scott to move to a closed session. The South Carolina Republican obliged and asked committee staffers, hearing attendees and reporters to leave the room.

Scott also only mentioned Phelan and Crews during his opening statement, and he made no reference to the FBI background checks. The Hill has reached out to the White House and FBI for comment.

After about 15 minutes, senators allowed attendees back in, but only briefly. The senators voted 12-10 to move back to a closed session, with 11 Democrats and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) in favor.

At just before 11:10 a.m., attendees reentered the hearing room. Senators then voted on the nominations of Phelan and Crews, with both advancing to the full Senate floor via 13-11 partisan votes.

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