The top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee effectively blocked a planned Tuesday vote on President Joe Biden’s five nominees for the Federal Reserve amid efforts to stall Sarah Bloom Raskin’s nomination as the vice chair for supervision.
“We’re seeking answers,” Senator Patrick Toomey said. “Until basic questions have been adequately addressed, I do not think the Committee should proceed with a vote on Ms. Raskin.”
The Pennsylvania Republican has been weighing having GOP members sit out a vote Tuesday on sending it to the floor, according to three people familiar with the discussions. He told reporters the votes are unlikely.
Republicans have questioned Raskin’s previous role as a director of Reserve Trust, a fintech company that obtained a Federal Reserve master account while Raskin was serving on its board. The Pennsylvania Republican also has criticized Raskin over her views on mitigating the financial risks of climate change.
Toomey’s move would deny Democrats a quorum to move forward.
Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown said Tuesday he and Toomey had agreed to the timing for votes on the Fed nominees three weeks ago and said he hopes Republicans don’t delay votes on them and postpone confirmations.
Two people familiar with the discussions said Republicans hope Democrats will agree to set aside Raskin’s confirmation vote and move forward with the other nominees for now. A threat to deny a quorum is sometimes used as a negotiating tactic by the minority party, but it’s not clear yet whether other committee Republicans will go along.
Denying a quorum also would delay confirmation votes on Biden’s other nominees, including Jerome Powell for another term as chair, Lael Brainard as vice chair and Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook as Fed governors. Powell and Jefferson are expected to get bipartisan backing in the committee and on the Senate floor for confirmation. Brainard and Cook also have faced Republican criticism.
If Democrats stick together, they still can force confirmations over Republican objections on the Senate floor. But a floor maneuver like that would likely have to wait until New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Lujan returns to the Capitol after recovering from a stroke. Lujan said in a video Sunday that he expected to be back at work in the 50-50 Senate in a “few weeks.”
Toomey on Friday accused the Fed of stonewalling his requests for information about Raskin’s role in securing approval of the master account for Reserve Trust.