"GOP Boycotts Committee Vote On Federal Reserve Nominees"

"Republicans today blocked the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin and several other Federal Reserve nominees, creating confirmation chaos for the pro-climate bank regulator pick in what Democrats labeled a “smear campaign.”

Republican senators refused to show up for a scheduled markup on Raskin’s nomination in the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee this afternoon, denying the panel a quorum to conduct business and preventing Raskin from moving to the floor.

The move also blocked several other less controversial nominees who had been scheduled for a vote alongside Raskin, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Lael Brainard, President Biden’s pick to be the Fed’s second-in-command.

“Last week, I told Chairman [Sherrod] Brown that Republican Committee members would agree to proceed with a markup on all outstanding nominations except that of Sarah Bloom Raskin,” ranking member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said in a statement."

Nick Sobczyk reports for E&E News February 15, 2022.

Source: E&E News, 02/16/2022