WASHINGTON – Sen. Joe Manchin said Monday that he opposes President Joe Biden’s nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin for a top regulatory post in the Federal Reserve, giving a big blow to her confirmation in the equally divided Senate.
Manchin, DW.Va., pointed to Raskin’s stance on energy amid rising inflation, saying her previous statements have “not satisfactorily addressed my concerns about the critical importance of funding an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation’s critical energy needs.
“I have come to the conclusion that I am not in a position to support her nomination to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board,” said Manchin, who comes from the country’s second largest coal-producing state.
Manchin’s opposition increases opposition from Senate Republicans, who are united against Raskin’s confirmation as deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. With Manchin now a no, the White House would have to find at least one Republican for Raskin’s confirmation.
Late. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., The top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said Monday that he “is 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 been criticized by Republicans for previous statements as Federal Reserve Board governor critical of the Fed’s support for fossil fuel companies. In a 2020 New York Times article, she wrote that climate change threatens financial stability and that the Fed should not “support and enrich” the “dying” fossil fuel industry. She argued that the Fed “ignores clear warning signs about the economic consequences of the impending climate crisis” by taking steps that will increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Raskin’s nomination has stuck in the Senate Banking Committee after Republicans did not show up for a vote in committee in February. The boycott prevented Democrats from getting the necessary quorum to advance Raskin and the nominations of four other Fed nominees, including President Jay Powell, to the full Senate.
In a statement following Manchin’s announcementWhite House Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher praised Raskin’s qualifications – including being confirmed twice by the Senate for positions in the Federal Reserve – and promised that the administration would push forward with her confirmation.
“We are working to set up the bipartisan support she deserves so 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 US Federal Reserve and determines the country’s monetary policy.
Manchin, a moderate Democrat representing a solid red state, has been a thorn in the side of other Democrats and the White House on several issues, including opposition to the president’s domestic social spending plan Build Back Better and overhauling the filibuster to approve voting rights legislation.
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This article originally appeared on US TODAY: Sarah Bloom Raskin’s Fed nomination in jeopardy with Manchin opposition