By Howard Schneider

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Lael brainard was nominated to the position of vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. He has been a majorstay in Democratic policy circles, having joined the Clinton Administration in the 1990s. Brainard also served as President Barack Obama’s top Treasury liaison in international affairs.

She has made her mark as a Federal Reserve Governor for the past seven years. Her influence on central bank affairs, including monetary policy, financial regulation and relations with poorer communities, is broad.

Brainard (59) will now expand her influence by being appointed vice chair. Although she is now the Fed’s vice chair, it also means that her promotion to the top spot has been denied. President Joe Biden chose continuity when he reappointed Jerome Powell as a Republican over the wishes of his progressive wing.

She would be the Fed’s longest serving member since Alan Greenspan, who was nearly 18.5 years in office.

The imprint of that longevity is already evident.

She was appointed to the Fed in 2014. Her Harvard Economics PhD and extensive global connections were a part of her job. She initially listened to her counsel and waited for a full one year before giving a speech regarding monetary policy.

She did this in a pivotal moment of the intense Fed debate on when to increase interest rates. It was the first major change since the 2008 to 2009 recession and financial crisis. While the Fed looked poised for action, Brainard’s first policy speech in June 2015 emphasized the need to wait for global economic data to weaken and, according her, pose risks for the United States.

It wasn’t until December 2015 that the Fed saw the need to raise rates. Brainard was a good listener, but transcripts from that meeting show her making arguments which would ultimately gain wide acceptance. This is because the central bank recognized that they were living in an environment of low interest rates that required a change.

As the Fed moved toward a new framework that places more emphasis on job creation, she pushed for it. She also acknowledged that rate hikes that Janet Yellen voted for were likely ill-advised.

Her wins have not been always clear. She has not always won. In the recent past, Randal Quarles, a Republican nominee, was vice-chair for financial regulation.

Yet, her perseverance over those years has paid off. She was appointed to an entire 14-year term, which will run through 2028. Fed governors are often limited to serving partial terms as they take over vacant spots due to resignations. But she is the only Obama appointee to last President Donald Trump.