By Ann Saphir

(Reuters] – U.S. president Joe Biden has nominated the Federal Reserve Board of Governors members. They have now completed the first step of the confirmation process, with hearings before Senate Banking Committee.

As the United States fights high inflation, here’s the next step for the current leadership.

THIS WEEKEND: FEDCHAIR POWELL’STERM EXPIRES

Jerome Powell will be ending his four-year tenure as Fed chair this weekend. According to history, Powell will be appointed pro tempore by the Fed’s Board – “for this time” – in order to hold the post until his confirmation. A decision could be made Friday.

In 1996, the last time that a Fed chief had his term expire before a Senate approved a new one was in 1996. On Friday March 1, 1996, Alan Greenspan was appointed chair protempore by the Fed board. This occurred on Friday. His third term was confirmed by the Senate on June 20.

Powell is still in charge of the monetary policy. According to the Fed’s statement after the meeting, Powell was elected as the chair of Federal Open Market Committee in January.

FEB 15, SENATE BANKING COMITTEE (VOTE)

On Thursday, former Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin and Lisa Cook from Michigan State University, as well as Philip Jefferson of Davidson College, had their confirmation hearings. In January, hearings were held on Powell’s nomination as chair again and the promotion of Fed Governor Lael brainard to the position of Fed vice-chair.

The committee chair is Democratic Senator Sherrod brown. She has scheduled February 15 to vote on the nominees. There is a balanced representation of Republicans and Democrats on the panel.

At least one Republican (and sometimes more) indicated their support for Powell, Jefferson, Jefferson, and Cook during the hearings, signaling that those four might be “reported favorably”, for consideration by the full Senate.

Biden chose Raskin as vice chair of supervision. However, the outlook was not so clear. Derek Tang of LH Meyer/Monetary Policy Analytics said that while she tried to convince Republicans that Raskin would be less heavy-handed than she is, she didn’t succeed.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer may have the entire Senate vote “discharging” Raskin’s nomination from being considered further if the committee fails to “report favorably” any nominee. Once a few other technical steps are completed, the confirmation vote can be scheduled for one week after that. This process was utilized last autumn to continue the nomination of Rohit Chopra, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Director.

DATE TO BE ANONCED: CONFIRMATION

Brown stated that he spoke to Schumer regarding getting nominations for the Fed quickly to the Senate Floor.

The fate of the Fed nominees could hinge on Senator Joe Manchin’s vote, a moderate Democrat hailing from West Virginia. With the Senate evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Manchin responded to a question earlier in the week, stating that the nominees are “extremely qualified.” However, the rest of the response suggested that he meant potential nominees for the Supreme Court and not the Fed.

Manchin said that he worries about inflation. Cook, Jefferson, Raskin and others all stated that fighting inflation was the Fed’s highest job. Manchin opposes any aggressive climate action. That is exactly what Republicans believe Raskin’s confirmation will mean.

A twist to the story: The vote could also be dependent on your attendance.

Trump failed to secure confirmation of Judy Shelton as his once-economic advisor, and now controversial Fed nominee. Partly because some Republicans had COVID-19 and were unable to come to the Senate to vote, this led to Trump’s failure to obtain Judy Shelton.

Senator Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico, suffered a stroke last week, and his absence has already forced the postponement of several nominations. According to reports, his recovery could take between four and six weeks. This will delay the confirmation vote for Fed nominees up until March.

WHAT IS THE STORY ABOUT POWELL’S UPDATE FOR CONGRESS?

Each year, the Fed chief usually gives Congress an update on monetary policy in November and February. The Fed pro tempore chair has many venues to convey his message, even if this testimony is not given in time for the critical moment of U.S.monetary policy.