On Tuesday, Sarah Bloom Raskin announced her withdrawal from consideration for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, citing “relentless onslaught by special groups.”
Raskin’s withdrawal comes just one day after moderate Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced his opposition to the nomination, thereby destroying Raskin’s chances of being confirmed.
Raskin, the wife of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md. ), wrote President Biden a letter informing him of her decision, accusing Republicans for “holding hostage” her and four other Fed board nominations.
Republicans asserted that Raskin would utilize the Fed’s regulatory authority to dissuade banks from lending to oil and gas businesses, backed by Senate Banking Committee ranking member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
Raskin, who has the support of the majority of Democrats, argued that her views aren’t extreme and that all she wants is for the Fed to assess the risks that climate change poses to banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.
The former Treasury Department deputy secretary stated, “It was — and remains — my considered belief that the threats of climate change must be added to the list of major risks that the Federal Reserve examines as it works to safeguard the stability and resiliency of our economy and financial system.”
“[Fed] Chairman [Jerome] Powell has identified climate change as a key risk that must be factored into the supervisory process,” she continued.
“Any vice chair for supervision who ignores these realities — which manifest themselves every day across this country — would be guilty of gross negligence.”
If her opponents had pressed her on her “conviction in the need to integrate climate-based risks and costs into the financial regulatory machinery, I would have welcomed the opportunity for this vital conversation,” Raskin said.
She also claimed that Republicans were targeting her ethics and integrity without any legal or factual basis. Toomey said this month that Raskin pressured the Kansas City Fed improperly on behalf of financial tech firm Reserve Trust in 2017 to gain access to the central bank’s payment system.
During her confirmation hearing, Raskin stated that she had no recollection of doing so, but that if she had, “I would have complied with all applicable ethical laws in such communications.”
“I have had a long career in which my honesty and character have been issues of public record, and hence I am unconcerned about character attacks,” Raskin stated. “However, I am profoundly concerned about the threat that this practice poses to the common good and the willingness of capable and dedicated people to serve in government.”
She stated that the Federal Reserve still has “hard and important work” to perform even as she withdraws from the nomination.
“There can be no argument left for a continued boycott of the Constitution’s ‘advice and consent’ process and the Senate’s accompanying failure to attend to our nation’s real economic needs if I withdraw from this confirmation process.”
Republicans on the banking committee had failed to show up for scheduled votes on Raskin’s nomination, preventing the panel from forming a quorum and reporting the nominee to the full Senate.
Following Raskin’s departure, Biden issued a statement accusing Republicans of making “baseless attacks” on his nominee.
“Unfortunately, Senate Republicans are more concerned with propagating these bogus accusations and defending special interests than with taking crucial steps to combat inflation and cut expenses for the American people,” Biden said.
“I am grateful for Sarah’s commitment to our country and her willingness to serve again, and I look forward to seeing what she can do in the future.”
Raskin required at least 51 votes in the Senate’s evenly divided chamber to be confirmed — an impossible job with no known Republican support and Manchin’s opposition.
Raskin’s “prior public pronouncements have failed to sufficiently address my concerns about the vital need of financing an all-of-the-above energy program to satisfy our nation’s critical energy demands,” the moderate Democrat asserted on Monday.
In recent weeks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has backed Raskin, calling her “one of the most qualified individuals” to be considered for the position.
“The Senate’s bipartisan rejection of Sarah Bloom Raskin’s nomination sends a powerful message to the Fed, and to all financial regulators, that it is not their job to allocate capital or stray from their mission to pursue extraneous or politically charged campaigns,” a triumphant Toomey tweeted on Tuesday.
“In her place, the Biden administration should choose someone who will focus only on achieving the Fed’s statutory mandates of stable prices, full employment, and bank holding company oversight,” he added.
