Jonnelle Marte, Ann Saphir

(Reuters) – Senate Republicans delayed Tuesday’s pivotal vote by the committee on nominees for President Joe Biden to the Federal Reserve Board. This included Jerome Powell as chairman. They also boycotted the proceedings over concerns about Sarah Bloom Raskin, the central bank’s Wall Street regulator.

Ohio Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown chairs the Banking Committee that reviews the nominees. He said he would try to reschedule a voting as quickly as possible. Because Republicans hold the majority of the panels’ seats, it is not clear when this might occur. Brown refuses to allow Raskin to be seperated from the four other nominees.

Below are some ways that the Fed could be affected in the coming weeks by this delay.

IS IT IMPACTIVE ON PLANS TO GET A MARCH INTEREST RATES HIKE

No.

In a vote earlier in the month, Powell was elected “chair protempore” to lead the Fed as a whole while the Senate confirmation process takes place. In January, Powell was elected chair of Federal Open Market Committee.

Powell was among those who indicated that they intend to raise interest rates during the March 15-16 meeting. However, recent high inflation readings have caused a debate over how quickly to move in the months ahead.

Kaleb Nygaard from the Yale Program on Fiscal Stability, senior research associate, stated that delays in the confirmation of Fed Governor Lael Mindard’s elevation into vice chair – a leader voice in Fed messaging efforts – may hinder efforts to give clarity on the future path for monetary policy.

“This delay in getting the nominees actually hurts the institution’s ability to signal because there’s an added degree of uncertainty about what the leadership team is going to be,” Nygaard said.

This will mean that there are fewer POLICYMAKER projects in the next month.

Most likely, the answer is yes.

Each quarter, policymakers give individual forecasts for where inflation, interest rates, and unemployment will go in the next few months. The median forecast of the Fed’s target rate is particularly influential. Next set will be available at the March meeting.

Randal Quarles, Richard Clarida, and Randal Quarles have both left the Fed since they provided their December projections. There are only four weeks before the meeting and it seems likely that 16 projections will be available instead of the 18 forecasts in December, which included 19 nominees.

This could impact the signals emerging from projections about when officials expect inflation to return to their target of 2% and how aggressively rates will be raised this year.

What’s next in the CONFIRMATION PROCESS PROCESS?

Because Republicans are refusing to come, the 12-12 Committee cannot attain the quorum necessary to hold a voting.

Brown and his Democratic counterparts will now make the political decision – probably in consultation with President Obama – whether the vote should be split by separating Raskin from the Republicans, or continue to push for all five nominations.

Many Republicans have supported the nominations for Powell to be the chair for a second time and Brainard for vice-chair. Many others have indicated that they support the nominations of Powell for a second term as chair and Brainard for vice-chair.

These four people could then be “reported favorably”, for consideration in the Senate’s confirmation process – provided that the Senate can vote.

Republicans support Raskin’s past statements on climate change, but they are also united against her. They accuse Raskin of improperly lobbying for a company where she was a director.

HOW WILL IT APPEAR IF THE COMITTEE EVENTUALLY VOTES?

After the committee votes are over, the names of those nominated go before the Senate to be confirmed.

The Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer may have the entire Senate vote “discharging” Senate Banking Panel from consideration of the nominee in the unlikely event that the committee does not “report favorably” on any nominee.

After all technical processes are complete, the final confirmation vote may be held. This process was utilized last year in order to proceed with the still-pending nomination of Rohit Chopra, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Director.

Another twist is that the attendance of voters may affect their vote.

Trump tried to confirm Judy Shelton, his former economic advisor and controversial Fed nominee in 2020. This was partly because two Republicans who had been exposed to COVID-19 were in quarantine and couldn’t vote on the Senate floor.

Senator Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico, suffered a stroke last month and is recovering, putting off the earliest likely confirmation vote on the Fed nominees until March.