After weeks of delays due in part to partisan filibuster, the US Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lael Brainard, a member of the Federal Reserve board of governors, as the central bank’s next deputy chair.
In a 52-43 vote on the Senate floor Tuesday, US lawmakers confirmed Brainard as a four-year Federal Reserve vice chair, potentially beyond her term as governor that ends in January 2026. Brainard was one of the four nominees awaiting approval since then. Republican lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee boycotted a February committee that would have sent the nomination of a potential Fed vice chairman to the full Senate.
In addition to Brainard, the Senate is likely to vote soon on nominations for future Fed chairman Jerome Powell, who has been serving as acting chairman since February, as well as economists Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook as Fed governors. Former Obama administration official and law professor Michael Barr is also awaiting approval from lawmakers after President Joe Biden announced Barr as his pick for Fed vice chairmanship for supervision in April.
During a confirmation hearing in January, Brainard said that Congress would ultimately have the power to decide whether to move forward with the creation of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, adding that the Fed would welcome the body. legislature “assume a very important role” in updating the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and digital assets. He has previously spoken out in favor of the United States issuing a CBDC, but has also raised concerns about “legal and regulatory safeguards” for cryptocurrencies.
The Federal Reserve, in addition to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, oversees many of the regulations covering digital assets in the United States. Many of the Federal Reserve vacancies are the result of expiration of terms and resignations of board members. Seven members are part of the board of governors when it is complete, which has not happened in about ten years.
As with Brainard, Powell, Barr and Jefferson would need more than 50 votes to confirm their appointment with the full Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris was absent from the Senate floor on Tuesday, likely because gave COVID-19 test positive. Since Harris cannot act as a tiebreaker, his absence would have delayed the vote on Cook’s nomination to the Fed’s board of governors.
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