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Powell Investigation Dropped and Warsh’s Committee Vote to Proceed

April 28, 2026

On Sunday, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he will support Kevin Warsh’s nomination to chair the Federal Reserve. According to Politico, the Senate Banking Committee is set to vote Wednesday on Warsh’s nomination to become chair.

• On Friday, the Justice Department closed its investigation into the central bank's headquarters renovation. "Tillis won," one GOP senator told Politico anonymously. 
• Tillis had vowed to block Warsh in committee until the Justice Department ended its investigation, which Powell had framed as a pretext to pressure him into cutting interest rates.

As reported by Politico, Tillis stated:

Earlier last week, Warsh appeared before the Senate Banking Committee for his confirmation hearing, where lawmakers focused on his approach to monetary policy, Fed independence, and ethics. 

Warsh laid out an aggressive plan to reshape the central bank:

• He pushed for a significantly smaller Fed balance sheet, calling the current size "fiscal policy in disguise," and argued that interest rates, not quantitative easing, should be the dominant monetary tool.

Democrats pressed hard on whether Warsh would be independent from Trump, who continues to attack Powell over rate policy.

• Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) pointed to an article that claimed President Trump pressed Warsh to reduce rates. Warsh asserted that reporters "need better sources or better journalist standards." He said the President did not ask, require, or demand him to commit to interest rate cuts, nor would he have done so. 
• On Fed Governor Lisa Cook's pending Supreme Court case, Warsh declined to weigh in but affirmed he would abide by the court's ruling.

• Powell has said he'll remain as chair until his successor is confirmed. During his March 18 press conference, he shared that he had not yet made a decision on whether to stay on the Board when his chair term ends. According to NBC News:

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CRE Securitized Debt Update

April 28, 2026

Private-Label CMBS and CRE CLOs

Five transactions totaling $3.6 billion priced last week:

1. MTN 2026-LPFX, a $1.28 billion SASB backed by part of a $1.62 billion fixed-rate, five-year, interest-only loan for a joint venture led by Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (61%) and an undisclosed institutional investor (39%) to refinance 90 industrial properties (primarily single-tenant warehouses and distribution centers) totaling 19.2 million sf across 27 states. The portfolio is 96.3% leased to 36 tenants with a 5.5-year weighted average remaining lease term, led by FedEx (56.9% of gross rent across 45 properties) and Amazon (7.6%). The remaining $337.5 million of A-notes are expected to be placed in future conduit transactions.
2. BDS 2026-FL17, a $1.1 billion CRE CLO sponsored by Bridge Investment Group, with $984.1 million of offered notes backed by an initial $923.1 million cut-off collateral pool plus a $200 million ramp. The managed transaction comprises 24 collateral interests secured by 27 properties, with a 90% minimum multifamily concentration. The pool’s top-three property types are multifamily (93.0%), mixed-use (3.8%), and manufactured housing (3.2%). The largest loan is an $82.2 million mortgage on The Hadley, a 444-unit apartment complex in Cape Coral, FL.
3. SHOPS 2026-CSTL, a $712.5 million SASB backed by a $750 million fixed-rate, five-year, interest-only loan for Simon Property Group and Invesco Real Estate (50/50 JV) to refinance The Shops at Crystals, a 291,196 sf luxury retail center on the Las Vegas Strip that is part of the CityCenter complex and connected to the Aria Resort & Casino. The loan was underwritten to a 45.7% LTV, 10.8% debt yield, and 2.05x DSCR; proceeds retire a maturing $550 million 2016 mortgage and fund a $190 million equity cash-out.
   
4. GGP 2026-2PAK, a $250 million SASB backed by a fixed-rate, five-year loan (30-year amortization schedule) for GGP (a Brookfield subsidiary) and the New York State Common Retirement Fund to refinance two regional malls: a 542,000 sf collateral component of the 1.53 million sf Willowbrook Mall in Houston and a 652,000 sf collateral component of the 1.17 million sf Altamonte Mall in Altamonte Springs, FL. The combined 1.19 million sf collateral pool is 96.8% leased; loan proceeds plus $26 million of sponsor equity are being used to retire $271.4 million of existing CMBS debt and pay closing costs.
5. PRM8 2026-PRM8, a $240 million SASB backed by a fixed-rate, three-year, interest-only loan for Prime Storage Fund III to refinance a portfolio of 21 primarily self-storage properties. The loan was underwritten to a 73.5% portfolio LTV, 7.0% debt yield, and 1.16x DSCR.

By the numbers: YTD 2026 private-label CMBS and CRE CLO issuance totaled $55.7 billion, up 11% from the $50.1 billion for same-period 2025.

Spreads Come In

• Conduit AAA spreads were tighter by 2 bps to +75 while A-S spreads were unchanged at +110.
• Conduit AA and A spreads were unchanged at +135 and +190, respectively.
• Conduit BBB- spreads were unchanged at +440.
• SASB AAA spreads were tighter by 0 to 10 bps, depending on property type, to a range of +93 to +130.
• CRE CLO AAA and BBB- spreads were unchanged at +145/+150 (static/managed) and +325/+350 (static/managed), respectively.

Agency CMBS

• Agency issuance totaled $4.5 billion last week, comprising $2.5 billion in Fannie DUS, $1.1 billion in Ginnie Mae transactions, and an $843.9 million Freddie K transaction.
• YTD 2026 Agency issuance totaled $59 billion, 38% higher than the $42.8 billion recorded for same-period 2025.

Contact Raj Aidasani (raidasani@crefc.org) with any questions.

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Congressional Retirements/Vacancies

April 28, 2026

A total of 67 Members of Congress have announced retirement or will run for higher office to their current seats in 2026. 

• To date, the 12% retirement rate is outpacing any congressional cycle going back to 1992.
  
• Republicans account for a larger share of departures, driven heavily by House members running for higher office. Democratic turnover skews more toward outright retirements among senior lawmakers.
  

Source: Ballotpedia

By the numbers: In the House, 35 Republicans have announced their retirement compared to 21 Democrats, for a total of 56.

• Exiting Office: 28 (13 Democrats and 15 Republicans) are retiring from public office.
• Senate Seekers: 16 (7 Democrats and 9 Republicans) are running for the US Senate.
• State Office: 10 Republicans are running for Governor. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is running for state attorney general.

In the Senate, seven Republicans and four Democrats are declining to run again for their seats and ten are retiring from public office, except one, Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who is running for Governor of Alabama. 

• In addition to the above, three members not up for re-election in 2026 are running for Governor in their states: Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN. If they win their respective races this fall, there will be three more vacancies to fill next Congress. 

The big picture: In addition to this total, three resignations and two deaths in the last three months have opened five seats. This leaves the House party breakdown at 217 Republicans, 212 Democrats and 1 independent.

• Vacancies and retirements were cited as issues for Speaker Johnson and the GOP at the beginning of this Congress as the Speaker forced to work through legislation with narrow margins. 
• Those narrow margins, vacancies, and absentees will continue to be an issue for the GOP as they try to hold onto their majorities in both chambers this fall.

Retirements have played no small part in this calculation as mass retirements by one party are a leading indicator of the parties election prospects the next fall.

• When a member retires, any incumbency advantage that the party originally had for that seat evaporates. This can include name recognition, a seasoned campaign team, and a congressional record on which to run.
• Separately, a retirement opens up a primary election that can take up valuable time and money that otherwise would be spent running against the opposing party.

The bottom line: Democrats are well-positioned to take control of the House in just over six months, and the Senate is in play.

Contact James Montfort (jmontfort@crefc.org) with any questions.

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