The Office of the Comptroller of the US Currency will function with only one acting Comptroller for a period of time after President Biden’s candidate, Saule Omarova, withdrew her candidacy from the confirmation process.
In response to Omarova’s withdrawal, the President Biden said on December 7: “Saule was the target of inappropriate personal attacks that were well above the limits.”
The Comptroller of the Currency oversees the regulation of incorporated banks throughout the country. Cryptocurrency stakeholders viewed Omarova as a poor choice for the Comptroller’s Office due to her anti-crypto sentiments.
Omarova faced heated question lines from Republican senators and some Democrats on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee at hearings on her views on private banking and crypto regulation.
Some Republicans, like Senator John Kennedy, focused on Omarova’s education in the Soviet Union.
During the Nov. 18 Senate hearings, Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis questioned Omarova about her position on cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. Omarova expressed concern that over time, private tech companies deploying stablecoin infrastructure will put profit-based private interests above the public need for open banking.
Asked if he thinks government-issued fiat currency is superior to private trade, Omarova replied:
“I am concerned that private innovation will be allowed to undermine many important public policies that we must implement.”
Omarova attended Moscow State University (Russia) with the VI Lenin Personal Academic Scholarship, where she allegedly wrote a thesis on Karl Marx. The thesis appeared on Omarova’s resume in April 2017. Republican Senator Pat Toomey was told that the thesis had been deleted and therefore could not be submitted.
Republican Senator Mike Crapo challenged Omarova to explain her position on federally chartered banks when it comes to climate change. She advocates that the banking system have the power to put climate change contributing industries out of business, which she has referred to as “socially suboptimal industries,” by preventing them from accessing bank loans.
His position states that “the way to get rid of these carbon funders is to deprive them of their source of capital.”
As Omarova has backed down, President Biden will have to name another candidate for the Comptroller’s Office.
Keep reading: