Sen. Kevin Cramer said Thursday he would become the fourth Republican senator to vote against President Trump’s Federal Reserve nominee Herman Cain, effectively ending the pizza executive’s chances to join the central bank’s Board of Governors.
“If I had to [vote] today, I would vote no” on Mr. Cain, the North Dakota Republican said while speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, according to CNBC.
Although Mr. Trump has yet to formally nominate Mr. Cain to fill one of two seats on the seven-member board, he announced Mr. Cain was his pick, with conservative economist and author Stephen Moore being his second. Mr. Moore is a columnist for The Washington Times.
Mr. Cramer joins Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Cory Gardner and Mitt Romney who have said they would vote no on Mr. Cain’s nomination. With no Democrats expected to vote for him, he wouldn’t be able to reach the 50 votes needed for confirmation.
Mr. Cain, the former CEO of Godfather Pizza, ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
He became known for his “9-9-9” tax plan that would eliminate tax laws in favor of a 9 percent tax on sales, individual income and corporate income across the board.
A former member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, he also started a pro-Trump super PAC, America Fighting Back PAC, in 2018.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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