Embattled Federal Reserve Pick Raskin Withdraws Nomination

Sarah Bloom Raskin has withdrawn her nomination to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors after a key Democrat joined with all Republicans in the Senate to oppose her confirmation, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity before an official announcement.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced Monday that he opposed Raskin's confirmation, and all Republicans in the evenly-split 50-50 Senate had indicated they planned to block her for the position of the Fed's top banking regulator.

Republicans have argued that Raskin would use the Fed’s regulatory authority to discourage banks from lending to oil and gas companies. Democrats, as well as many banking executives, countered that Raskin’s views aren’t out of the mainstream and said she simply wants the Fed to consider the risks that climate change poses to banks, insurance companies and other financial firms.

Her nomination had been stuck in the Senate Banking Committee after Republicans last month unanimously refused to vote on it in an effort to prevent her being approved on a party-line vote.

Sen. Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania, the senior Republican on the committee, has also charged that Raskin inappropriately used her connections to the Fed to benefit a Colorado financial technology company.

President Joe Biden had nominated Raskin in January to serve as the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, a top financial regulatory post. Raskin previously served as Fed governor from 2010 through 2014 and then as the deputy Treasury secretary.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki had reiterated Tuesday that Raskin had Biden's “strong support."

Raskin's withdrawal was first reported by Bloomberg News.

Four other Biden nominees to the Fed’s board have been on hold because of the committee Republicans’ boycott of a vote on Raskin. Biden has nominated Chair Jerome Powell to serve a second four-year term. Powell is now serving as acting chair.

The president has also nominated Lael Brainard, a Fed governor, for the central bank’s No. 2 post, and economists Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson for positions on the board.