By Jonnelle Marte

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – President Joe Biden nominated Philip Jefferson to be the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The ranking Republican member of Senate Banking Committee called Jefferson ‘well-suited for the job’. This is a clear indication that he could soon be confirmed.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey attacked two other Biden nominees for high-ranking positions at the U.S. Central Bank, signaling that they may have a difficult path to confirm in the tightly divided Senate.

“I believe Professor Jefferson is well-suited for the position for which it has been appointed,” Toomey (top Republican on Senate Banking Committee), said at a confirmation hearing to Jefferson, Lisa Cook, former Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin, and Toomey.

Jefferson serves as the North Carolina dean for faculty at Davidson College.

Toomey made these remarks in response to harsher remarks he made about Cook (who Biden nominated as Fed Governor) and Raskin (who was nominated for the top bank regulator at the central banks).

Pennsylvania Republican Senator John McCain expressed concern that the Fed might become politicized by its climate and racial work.

Democratic senator Sherrod Brown heads the Senate Banking Committee and expressed support for each nominee at the beginning of the hearing. He said that he hopes they are confirmed.