US Senate panel to vote Jan 17 on Powell nomination for Fed chief

WASHINGTON: The US Senate Banking Committee will hold a second vote on Jan 17 over the Trump administration's nomination of Fed Governor Jerome Powell to lead the Federal Reserve, the committee's calendar showed on Thursday.

The committee already backed Powell to head the US central bank in a Dec 5 vote, but a second vote is required because the full Senate failed to approve Powell before the end of 2017.

If the panel backs Powell again as expected, his nomination will be sent back to the Senate floor for final approval.