The Fed chair was proposed by the US President.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington The US Senate Banking Committee confirmed the reappointment of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and two other candidates to the Fed Board late Wednesday evening. The Senate voted 23-1 in favor of Powell’s nomination by President Joe Biden. Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown hailed Powell ahead of the vote for the Fed’s leadership during the coronavirus pandemic and for his commitment to central bank independence.
The panel also voted 16-8 to vote for Lael Brainard as Fed Vice Chair and unanimously confirmed Philip Jefferson’s nomination to the Board of Directors. A fourth nomination resulted in a stalemate. Republicans on the panel refused to support economist Lisa Cook, who selected Biden as the first African American woman to serve on the board.
All four nominees will now be presented again to the full Senate for review and voting. According to Sherrod Brown, the results of the Banking Committee’s votes will now be forwarded to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. If the Senate, which Democrats control only because of Vice President Kamala Harris’ special position, remains divided over Lisa Cook’s nomination, she needs the support of all Democrats to be confirmed after all.
US President Joe Biden has already urged the Senate to confirm his candidates for the Federal Reserve Board quickly and without delay. It is the Fed’s job to make sure inflation doesn’t deepen, Biden said. Jerome Powell has been running the Fed on an acting basis since the end of his first term until the nomination process is fully completed.
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