WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed economist Lisa Cook on Tuesday night to serve on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, making her the first Black woman to sit on the panel in its 108-year history.

Cook was elected in 51-50 votes, while Kamala Harris broke the tie.

As the Fed tries to control inflation, it is a difficult time for her to join. The Fed released its last weekly report. raised its core interest rate as it battles inflation levels that are now at 40-year highs.

“As President Biden said today“Alternating inflation is a priority for the Biden-Harris Administration as we work towards lower costs of hardworking families,” said a White House official in a statement following the Senate vote. It is vital to have an adequately staffed Federal Reserve that can meet these problems for American citizens.

The central bank’s monetary policy is set by the board.

Cook, an economics professor from Michigan State University and international relations expert, was elected to this year’s Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Board of Directors. Cook was an advisor to the Obama White House Council of Economic Advisers and a member of Biden’s transition team.

Her research interests include economic development, innovation, financial institutions and markets, and economic history, and she has written about how Jim Crow laws affected long-term growth of the U.S. economy.

In November 2020 article published by The New York Times, Cook wrote about how “discrimination inflicts a staggering cost on the entire economy,” citing research that showed the far-reaching economic costs of racism.

After Trump’s unfilled vacancy, Biden was given the rare opportunity to nominate three Fed Board members.

Biden announced his nominees this year, he said in a statement that they would “bring much needed expertise, judgement and leadership to the Federal Reserve while at the same time bringing diversity of thought and perspective never seen before on the Board of Governors.”

Shortly before Tuesday’s vote, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) described Cook as “eminently qualified”

She’s an outstanding Georgian. “She comes from a large family of accomplished people, so she will be a tremendous asset to the country,” he stated.

Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Senator, said that Cook was a novice in monetary policy and had an history of hostile behavior toward those who oppose him.

Toomey, speaking on the Senate’s floor prior to the vote said that she didn’t know anything about Cook’s views on inflation. “My grave concern is that Professor Cook will be an inflation dove for the Fed while American families continue being ravaged from these price hikes.”

Republicans want to make inflation the top issue in their campaigns heading into November’s midterm elections. They hope to win the Senate and House of Representatives.

Biden is still waiting for confirmation votes on other Fed nominees. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, told reporters Tuesday he expects Fed Chairman Jerome Powell — who was nominated in January for a second term — and Philip Jefferson, who would become the fourth Black man to serve on the board, to be confirmed this week.

They have yet to be confirmed.