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© . FILE PHOTO: Dr. Lisa DeNell Cook, of Michigan, nominated to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve System’s board of directors, speaks before a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S.
By David Morgan () – President Joe Biden’s nominees to the Federal Reserve came one step closer to confirmation on Thursday after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed procedural motions for two of them, preparing him for a possible vote after lawmakers returned from the Easter holiday on April 25. The filing of the motions with Lisa Cook of Michigan State University, nominated to fill a vacant seat on the board, and Fed Governor Lael Brainard, nominated as vice chairman of the Fed, limits time for floor debate and puts clockwise in the direction of a confirmation voice. A final vote on all four Fed nominees could take place as soon as possible in late April, just days before the Fed is expected to implement a hefty rate hike and cut its massive bond holdings in a two-pronged effort to fight decades-long inflation. Both Jerome Powell, who has been nominated for a second term as Fed chairman, and Davidson College dean of the faculty Philip Jefferson, who has been nominated for a vacant seat on the board, have received bipartisan support and their confirmations are expected to go through the Senate. fern, split evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. However, Brainard and Cook drew significant Republican opposition to the Senate bench panel, with all Republicans voting against Cook and eight out of 12 against Brainard. Cook’s nomination was later taken to the full Senate by an additional parliamentary maneuver. But with Vice President Kamala Harris on hand to break through a potential draw, both are expected to be confirmed eventually. Cook would also be the first black woman to serve on the seven-member panel, and Jefferson would be the fourth black man to serve, and the first person of color since 2006. It would be the first time in his more than 100 years of exist that the board of directors of the US central bank would include two black members at once. Biden has yet to make a decision on who he will nominate for the board’s final opening, the vice chairman for oversight. His first nominee for the country’s top banking supervisor — Sarah Bloom Raskin — withdrew after Republicans thwarted a committee vote over her and a swing-vote Democrat announced his opposition.