Senate Approves Lisa Cook as First Black Woman on Federal Reserve Board of Governors: NPR
Ken Cedeno / Pool photo via AP
WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed economist Lisa Cook on Tuesday to serve on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, making her the first Black woman to do so in the organization’s 108-year history. office.
Her approval was based on a narrow, partisan 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the decisive vote.
Republicans in the Senate said she was unqualified for the position, saying she did not have enough experience with interest rate policy. They also said her testimony before the Senate Banking Committee showed she was not committed enough to combat inflation, which is at a four-decade high.
Cook holds a doctorate in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been a professor of economics and international relations at Michigan State since 2005. She is also an economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisers. from 2011 to 2012 and was an advisor to President Biden’s transition team on Fed and banking policy.
Some of her most famous research has focused on the impact of racism and racial violence on African-American innovation.
Cook is only the second of five Biden candidates for the Fed to win Senate confirmation. The Fed’s options have been met with an unusual degree of partisan opposition, given the Fed’s history as an independent body that has always sought to stay on top of politics.
However, some critics argue that the Fed has contributed to increased oversight by addressing more issues in recent years, such as the role of climate change in financial stability. and racial disparities in employment.
Biden has called on the Senate to approve his nominations soon as the Fed seeks to fight inflation.
“I would never interfere with the Fed,” Biden said. “The Fed should do its job and will do its job, I’m convinced.”
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is currently holding the post as provisional after his term ends in February. He was approved by the Senate Banking Committee by a near-unanimous vote in March.
Fed Governor Lael Brainard was confirmed two weeks ago for the position of influential vice chairman of the Fed by a 52-43 vote.
Philip Jefferson, an economics professor and dean at Davidson College in North Carolina, was also nominated by Biden for a governor position and was approved unanimously by the Finance Committee. He will be the fourth black person to serve on the Fed’s board.
Biden also nominated Michael Barr, a former Treasury Department official, as the Fed’s top banker, following the previous choice, Sarah Bloom Raskin, face opposition from West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.
Cook, Jefferson and Barr will join Brainard as Democratic appointees to the Fed. However, most economists expect the Fed to continue on its path of aggressive rate hikes this year.