Biden Fed nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin in peril after Manchin reveals opposition
WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin said Monday he opposes President Joe Biden's nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to a top regulatory post at the Federal Reserve, delivering a major blow to her confirmation in the evenly divided Senate.
Manchin, D-W.Va., pointed to Raskin's position on energy amid soaring inflation, saying her past statements have "failed to satisfactorily address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation’s critical energy needs.
"I have come to the conclusion that I am unable to support her nomination to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board," said Manchin, who hails from the country's second-biggest coal producing state.
Manchin's opposition adds to the resistance of Senate Republicans, who are unified against Raskin's confirmation as vice chair for supervision on the Federal Reserve Board. With Manchin now a no-vote, the White House would have to find at least one Republican for Raskin's confirmation.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., the top Republican in the Senate Banking Committee, said Monday he's "not aware of any Republican support for Sarah Bloom Raskin" in an interview on Bloomberg TV.
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Raskin, nominated by Biden in January, has faced criticism from Republicans for past statements as a Federal Reserve Board governor critical of the Fed's support of fossil fuel companies. In a 2020 New York Times op-ed, she wrote that climate change threatens financial stability and that the Fed should not "prop up and enrich" the "dying" fossil fuel industry. She argued the Fed is "ignoring clear warning signs about the economic repercussions of the impending climate crisis" by taking action that will increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Raskin's nomination has been stuck in the Senate Banking Committee after Republicans did not show up for a February committee vote. The boycott prevented Democrats from getting a necessary quorum to advance Raskin and the nominations of four other Fed nominees, including Chairman Jay Powell, to the full Senate.
In a statement after Manchin's announcement, White House deputy press secretary Chris Meagher praised Raskin's qualifications – including being twice confirmed by the Senate for Federal Reserve posts – and vowed the administration is pressing forward wit her confirmation.
"We are working to line up the bipartisan support that she deserves, so that she can be confirmed by the Senate for this important position," Meagher said.
Raskin is married to Rep. Jamie Raskin. D-Md.
The seven-member Federal Reserve Board of Governors oversees the central bank of the U.S. and sets the nation's monetary policy.
Manchin, a moderate Democrat who represents a solidly red state, has been a thorn to fellow Democrats and the White House on multiple issues, including opposition to the president's domestic social-spending plan Build Back Better and overhauling the filibuster to approve voting rights legislation.
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.