US Republicans block vote on Biden’s Fed candidates

WASHINGTON – Republicans in the United States Senate yesterday boycotted a vote to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominees to lead the Federal Reserve, creating a potential roadblock for the central bank as it looks to fight runaway inflation.

The Senate Banking Committee was scheduled to vote on the nomination of Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a second term, as well as Fed Governor Lael Brainard to serve as his vice chair, Sarah Bloom Raskin for the post of top banking regulator and Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson to join the central bank’s board of governors.

But opposition lawmakers denied the committee the quorum it needed to proceed, and delayed confirmation by the full Senate.

Powell, a Republican, is still leading the central bank but his term officially expired on February 4, and there are three vacant seats on the board.

On the Senate floor, Republican leader Mitch McConnell called Biden’s choices “controversial”, singling out Cook, who he said, “previously promoted partisan conspiracy theories”.

If confirmed, Cook will be the first African American woman on the Fed board.

Senator Pat Toomey, the top Republican on the banking committee, accused Raskin, a Democrat, of being evasive with lawmakers.

“All senators – not just Banking Republicans – deserve straightforward and honest answers from Ms. Raskin before having to cast a vote on her nomination,” he said in a statement.

As vice-chair for supervision, Toomey said Raskin would have the Fed “allocate capital and choke off credit to disfavoured industries”.

At the White House, Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the boycott “irresponsible”, and said it would hamper the Fed’s fight against the inflation wave that pushed consumer prices up by their fastest pace in four decades in January.

“Republicans are out there saying inflation is a problem. It’s a huge issue, we agree. And then they’re not even bothering to show up to even vote against these nominees to the Federal Reserve,” Psaki told reporters.

“What message is that sending to the American public?”

Senator Sherrod Brown, the committee’s Democratic chair also condemned the move saying, “Instead of showing up to work to do their job, Republicans have walked out on the American people.” – AFP, February 16, 2022