Senate Republicans on Tuesday said that they plan to boycott a scheduled committee vote to advance President Biden’s nomination on Sarah Bloom Raskin to a top Federal Reserve post.
The move will delay Mrs. Raskin’s nomination from advancing while the Republicans demand answers about her anti-oil stance and her work at a financial service company that was granted a Federal Reserve master account during her tenure on the company’s board of directors.
The boycott was led by Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the Banking Committee. It will prevent a quorum of committee members and also stall consideration of four other Fed nominees, including the confirmation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to a second term.
“This isn’t a garden-variety political appointment,” Mr. Toomey said in a statement. “Committee Republicans aren’t seeking to delay her vote. We’re seeking answers. Until basic questions have been adequately addressed, I do not think the committee should proceed with a vote on Ms. Raskin.”
The boycott will cause a delay but does not mean the nominations won’t eventually reach the full Senate and win confirmation.
Democrats on the committee criticized their GOP colleagues.
“We’re not going to play that game,” Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown, Ohio Democrat, told reporters. “She is maybe the most qualified Fed nominee. … They don’t like what she’s saying on climate, what she’s done on climate. Most Republicans are not even willing to acknowledge that we should combat climate change in this body.”
Mrs. Raskin, the wife of Rep. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat, is nominated to be the top banking industry regulator.
Republicans vehemently opposed Mrs. Raskin, a former Federal Reserve governor and Treasury official under President Barack Obama, over her statements that the Federal Reserve should have greater involvement in addressing climate change risks. They also question her involvement with a Colorado financial institution that gained access to the Federal Reserve’s payment system in 2018 after she joined the company’s board of directors.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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