By Pete Schroeder

(Reuters) – U.S. Democratic senator Joe Manchin, who has voted against his party on occasion in an evenly divided Senate, stated Tuesday that he will support Michael Barr as Federal Reserve vice-chair for supervision.

Manchin released a statement saying that he spoke with Barr last Wednesday and believed Barr would make a great addition to the Fed board. Barr was previously a top Treasury Department official and would be confirmed to take the Fed’s highest regulatory position, overseeing the country’s biggest banks.

Manchin’s support for President Joe Biden is significant, as Sarah Bloom Raskin was his first nominee.

Raskin resigned after Manchin said he would not support her nomination. He cited concerns about Raskin’s views regarding how financial regulators should deal with climate change.

Barr has the backing of some progressive Democrats, and Senator Elizabeth Warren indicated that she would vote for him after his April election.

Barr, who was an integral part of the Dodd-Frank financial restructuring law’s 2010 creation, has been a member of the University of Michigan law school faculty. Barr will testify before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday about his nomination.

Barr will be confirmed and would have a broad agenda. This includes revisiting rules that Randal Quarles made simpler and taking steps towards addressing climate change risk, the rapid growth and development of fintechs and cryptocurrency.