U.S. Fed nominees move a step closer to confirmation -Breaking
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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO.Dr. Lisa DeNell Cook, a Michigan resident, was nominated as a member of the Board of Governors of Federal Reserve System. She spoke before the confirmation hearing of Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., U2/2
By David Morgan
(Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s Federal Reserve nominees moved closer to confirmation after U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer filed procedural motions. This set up for a possible vote on Thursday, after legislators return from Easter Break.
Motions filed by Lisa Cook of Michigan State University and Fed Governor Lael brainard (nominated to serve as Fed vice-chair) limit the time available for floor discussion and start the clock towards a confirmation vote.
One final vote could be held on the four Fed nominees by late April. It is days before Fed expects to increase its interest rates and shrink its bond holdings. The Fed will then attempt to combat decades of high inflation with a double-barreled approach.
Jerome Powell has been elected Fed Chair again and Philip Jefferson (Davidson College dean) was nominated to fill the vacant spot on the Board. They have received bipartisan support. Their confirmations should pass through the Senate split equally between Republicans, Democrats.
Brainard and Cook however drew substantial Republican opposition at Senate Banking panel. With all Republicans voting against Cook, and 8 of 12 voting for Brainard, Cook’s nomination was brought forward to the full Senate by a parliamentary maneuver.
Both will be confirmed, though, as Kamala Harris, the Vice President of Kamala Harris is available to help break any potential ties.
Cook will also become the first Black woman on the panel of seven members. Jefferson, the fourth Black member, would serve as the fourth man and first person of colour since 2006.
This would be the first time that two Black members of the U.S. central banking’s Board of Governors have been included in one meeting, after more than 100 years of existence.
Biden has yet to decide who will be the nominee for the last opening on the board, which is the post of vice chairman for supervision. Sarah Bloom Raskin was his first nomination for top bank oversight. Republicans had stopped a committee vote and a swing-vote Democrat declared opposition.
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