Washington – West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin said Monday he opposes the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin for a key position on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, jeopardizing his chances of winning confirmation of the Senate.
Raskin’s nomination has been blocked in the Senate Banking Committee since Republicans last month unanimously refused to vote to prevent it from being passed in a party vote. Manchin is not a member of the committee, but his opposition means Raskin would have to collect a Republican vote to get Senate approval.
Committee Republicans led by Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, have was opposed by Raskin on the grounds that she has been an open supporter of the Fed considering the threat of climate change in its regulation of banks. President Joe Biden nominated Raskin to serve as the Fed’s supervisory vice president, a position of senior financial regulation.
Toomey has said Raskin would try to use the Fed’s regulatory authority to deter banks from lending to oil and gas drilling companies. Raskin denied it at a February hearing. But Manchin, who has long been a staunch supporter of energy companies, expressed similar concerns.
“His previous public statements have not satisfactorily addressed my concerns about the critical importance of funding a comprehensive energy policy to meet the critical energy needs of our nation,” the senator said. “I have come to the conclusion that I am not in a position to support his nomination.”
A White House official said the administration still supports Raskin and described her as “one of the most qualified people ever nominated” for the Fed board. She previously served on the board between 2010 and 2014 and as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
“We are working to align the bipartisan support it deserves, so that it can be confirmed by the Senate for this important position,” said the official, who was not allowed to speak in the minutes.
A spokesman for Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat and chairman of the Bank Committee, said Brown was “working to advance the nomination of Ms. Bloom Raskin with bipartisan support.” Raskin was unanimously confirmed by the Senate the first time she was nominated for Fed governor.
Four other Biden candidates for the Fed council are also on hold due to the Republican committee’s boycott of a vote on Raskin. Biden has named President Jerome Powell for a second four-year term; Powell now serves as acting president. The president has also appointed Fed Governor Lael Brainard to the second central bank position, and economists Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson to the board.
Some analysts predicted that Manchin’s opposition could condemn Raskin’s nomination.
“We don’t see how Raskin can be confirmed without the support of Joe Manchin, as we expect all Republicans to oppose his nomination,” said Jaret Seiberg, a banking analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group.
Raskin was considered to take a much tougher line with the banks than Randal Quarles, a Trump-appointed former vice president of oversight. But opposition to it comes mainly from the energy industry, while many banking lobbyists saw it as at least a known amount. Raskin was Maryland’s top banking regulator from 2007 to 2010 and had been endorsed by state banking representatives.
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