Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) plans next week to act on all five Federal Reserve Board nominations. Sarah Bloom Raskin, Lisa Cook, and Philip Jefferson confirmation hearings will occur February 3, according to the Chairman’s plans. He also wants the committee to approve Chair Jerome Powell and Governor Lael Brainard, readying those two confirmations for February floor votes.
If all goes well from President Biden’s perspective, a full Board could be seated as early as this month but certainly this quarter. The March FOMC meetings are a reasonable target unless one or all the new nominees loses support from one or more Democrats, which we think is unlikely. Ranking Member Pat Toomey’s (R-PA) protests that the new nominees lack industry and geographic representation is all the cover any Republican would need to oppose the slate.
The committee hearings, as usual, will provide an opportunity for all three nominees to explain their views on any topic any committee member solicits. The give-and-take will reveal the thoroughness of White House vetting and Federal Reserve Board staff hearing preparation. We expect a robust session. As was the case for nominees Judy Shelton and Marvin Goodfriend in the previous Congress, confirmation hearings can prove to be roadblocks to Federal Reserve Board membership.
Tough hearings producing 12 – 12 committee ties in which nominations are reported to the floor and even 51 – 50 floor votes would create interesting headlines. But those banners will recede from memory rather quickly as the policy challenges facing the Board and FOMC are at least as unique as the nominees.
