Members of the US Senate Banking Committee are reportedly divided along partisan lines over President Joe Biden’s selection of Sarah Bloom Raskin as Vice Chair for Oversight of the Federal Reserve Board.
According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, Senator Pat Toomey, a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, said he asked the 12 Republican senators on the committee not to attend a meeting where members were to vote for President Biden’s nominees for the presidency. Fed. Toomey reportedly said the Democratic leadership could continue with “five of the six candidates” nominated by the president and expect Republican support – with the exception of Ruskin.
The Republican boycott is reportedly fueled by concerns over allegations that the Fed’s presumed vice chairman for oversight lobbied the president of the Kansas City Fed in 2017 to access its payment systems on behalf of fintech firm Reserve Trust – Raskin was a member of the firm’s board . at that time. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City later granted the Reserve Fund’s request.
At a Feb. 3 nomination hearing at the Senate Banking Committee, Toomey criticized Ruskin’s statements for seemingly advocating issues “completely unrelated” to the Fed’s agenda. Senator Cynthia Loomis later questioned Ruskin at the same hearing about her alleged involvement in securing access to the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank’s master account for the Reserve Trust — the alleged Fed vice chairman for supervision neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.
However, at Tuesday’s hearing on “Study of the President’s Financial Markets Task Force Report on Stablecoins,” Senate Banking Committee Chairman and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown urged lawmakers to vote for Fed candidates without delay:
“We need a full board of governors at the Federal Reserve to bring down prices and put workers first. […] Americans depend on us to get these people to work as soon as possible. If my colleagues are as concerned about inflation as they claim, in this committee and beyond, they will not slow down the process.”
Related: The White House is reportedly preparing an executive order on cryptocurrencies
Seven members sit on the Fed’s board of governors when it is fully staffed, which hasn’t happened in about a decade. Many of the vacancies were created as a result of the expiration of the term and the departure of board members, which gave President Biden the opportunity to shake up the agency’s leadership.
The Senate plans to vote for Biden’s candidates for chairman and vice chairman of the Fed – Jerome Powell and Lael Brainard, respectively – as well as for economists Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson. If they receive more than 50 votes, Powell and Brainard will lead the Fed’s board until 2026, while Cook and Jefferson will serve 14-year terms. Raskin, who replaced Randal Quarles as vice chairman for oversight, would have a four-year term if confirmed.
Members of the US Senate Banking Committee are reportedly divided along partisan lines over President Joe Biden’s selection of Sarah Bloom Raskin as Vice Chair for Oversight of the Federal Reserve Board.
According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, Senator Pat Toomey, a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, said he asked the 12 Republican senators on the committee not to attend a meeting where members were to vote for President Biden’s nominees for the presidency. Fed. Toomey reportedly said the Democratic leadership could continue with “five of the six candidates” nominated by the president and expect Republican support – with the exception of Ruskin.
The Republican boycott is reportedly fueled by concerns over allegations that the Fed’s presumed vice chairman for oversight lobbied the president of the Kansas City Fed in 2017 to access its payment systems on behalf of fintech firm Reserve Trust – Raskin was a member of the firm’s board . at that time. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City later granted the Reserve Fund’s request.
At a Feb. 3 nomination hearing at the Senate Banking Committee, Toomey criticized Ruskin’s statements for seemingly advocating issues “completely unrelated” to the Fed’s agenda. Senator Cynthia Loomis later questioned Ruskin at the same hearing about her alleged involvement in securing access to the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank’s master account for the Reserve Trust — the alleged Fed vice chairman for supervision neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.
However, at Tuesday’s hearing on “Study of the President’s Financial Markets Task Force Report on Stablecoins,” Senate Banking Committee Chairman and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown urged lawmakers to vote for Fed candidates without delay:
“We need a full board of governors at the Federal Reserve to bring down prices and put workers first. […] Americans depend on us to get these people to work as soon as possible. If my colleagues are as concerned about inflation as they claim, in this committee and beyond, they will not slow down the process.”
Related: The White House is reportedly preparing an executive order on cryptocurrencies
Seven members sit on the Fed’s board of governors when it is fully staffed, which hasn’t happened in about a decade. Many of the vacancies were created as a result of the expiration of the term and the departure of board members, which gave President Biden the opportunity to shake up the agency’s leadership.
The Senate plans to vote for Biden’s candidates for chairman and vice chairman of the Fed – Jerome Powell and Lael Brainard, respectively – as well as for economists Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson. If they receive more than 50 votes, Powell and Brainard will lead the Fed’s board until 2026, while Cook and Jefferson will serve 14-year terms. Raskin, who replaced Randal Quarles as vice chairman for oversight, would have a four-year term if confirmed.
