GOP senators have successfully blocked several of President Biden’s nominees to the Federal Reserve over concerns about one of the nominee’s radical views on climate change.
Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, a ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, announced on Tuesday that he would be boycotting meetings of the committee, which has stalled the nomination of five key Fed nominees.
The decision comes after several Republican lawmakers urged Biden to reconsider his nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to serve as the Federal Reserve’s chief banking regulator.
Earlier this month, 48 Capitol Hill Republicans showed their concern in a letter addressed to the president that Raskin’s past statements on climate regulation could bring a troubling prospect to the Federal Reserve such as targeting fossil fuels if elected.
“We are deeply troubled by your decision to nominate Ms. Raskin, who would wield tremendous regulatory and supervisory authority that could be weaponized to discourage or prohibit banks from lending to or investing in American energy,” read in the letter.
“Her consistent advocacy for the Federal Reserve to de-bank energy companies raises the troubling prospect that she would do just that.”
To support their claims, the letter cited a New York Times op-ed piece from 2020 in which she called oil and gas a “dying industry”.
“Given the size and scope of government intervention, we should be maximizing the public’s return on our investment,” wrote Raskin. “The Fed’s unique independence affords it a powerful role, and its mandate includes ensuring both the stability of the financial system and full employment.”
Raskin has also called for the Fed to penalize banks and other financial institutions if they refuse to cut ties with fossil-fuel companies.
In a statement, Toomey told Chairman Sherrod Brown that Republican Committee members would agree to proceed with a “markup” on all nominations except for Sarah Bloom Raskin.
“Ms. Raskin’s repeated and forceful advocacy for having the Federal Reserve allocate capital and choke off credit to disfavored industries is alone disqualifying and reason enough to vote against her. But whether to proceed with a vote today is a separate question,” the senator said on Tuesday.
Toomey explained that they are simply trying to get answers from Raskin about her qualifications to serve at the Fed and the Committee is not seeking to block the vote.
“Committee Republicans aren’t seeking to delay her vote,” he said. “We’re seeking answers. Until basic questions have been adequately addressed, I do not think the Committee should proceed with a vote on Ms. Raskin.”
