Tillis crashes Trump's Fed tour

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) joined the Fed tour on Thursday.

Why it matters: The question for President Trump is if Tillis will join the battle on who should replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell — and which side he'll be on.

• On a Senate Banking Committee with a 13-11 partisan split, each Republican will have the ability to vote with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and deadlock the committee.
• That's especially true for the retiring Tillis, who bucked Trump on his one "big beautiful bill" and scuttled the nomination of Ed Martin, Trump's first choice to be U.S. attorney for D.C.

Driving the news: Tillis was a late tour addition, tagging along with Trump, banking panel Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and other administration officials who have been fiercely critical of Powell.

• Trump didn't repeat any of his Powell insults as they stood side-by-side in hard hats.
• "I'd love him to lower interest rates," Trump said.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been saying that Trump isn't in a hurry to name a replacement for Powell, whose tenure ends in May. An announcement is now expected at the end of the year.

The intrigue: Like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) balking at Mike Waltz's nomination as the U.S. ambassador to the UN this week, Tillis can slow-walk any Fed nominee he doesn't think is qualified.

• This month, he said that ending the Fed's independence would be a "huge mistake."

What we're watching: Tillis is a lame-duck senator, but he hasn't gone full Bulworth. Yet.

• Still, he is full of pluck, telling us Wednesday to "release the damn" Jeffrey Epstein files.
• Twelve years ago, a first-term Sen. Warren helped kill the Fed candidacy of Larry Summers, a leading candidate for the president of her own party.

The bottom line: Tillis — a fierce defender of the Fed's independence — is expected to play a crucial role in vetting Powell's successor.