Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown plans an early February hearing for President Joe Biden’s three most recent Federal Reserve picks and said he expects bipartisan confirmations of all five nominees to the central bank’s board.
The nominations of Sarah Bloom Raskin for vice chair of supervision as well as Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson for the other open spots on the board will be reviewed together, Brown told reporters Tuesday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and vice chair nominee Lael Brainard had their hearings last week. Brown said he has spoken to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer about getting all of the Fed nominees confirmed quickly on the Senate floor.
“We will move as quickly as we can,” the Ohio Democrat said.
Brown defended Raskin, who has come under some early fire from Pat Toomey, the top Republican on the Banking Committee, over her advocacy for regulators to act on the financial risks of climate change.
“In terms of filling the role of regulatory watchdog, if you will, I think she’s the most qualified person we’ve ever seen appointed to the Fed,” Brown said, citing her stints as a Fed governor, a deputy Treasury secretary and as a top banking regulator in Maryland.
Brown noted that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also has said the Fed has a role in assessing the financial risks of climate change and said he’s heard from both Powell and Raskin that the two have a good relationship.
He said he does expect Raskin to have a very different approach to previous vice chair of supervision Randal Quarles, who led a series of deregulatory actions Brown has criticized.
“When she sees places where her predecessor fell short, I assume and expect and hope that she will stand up and make changes where they’re necessary,” Brown said.
