Here’s what you need to know about Lael Brainard, Biden’s pick for vice chair at the Fed

The administration’s decision to promote Brainard is thanks in part to progressive lobbying and Democrats such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

Throughout the summer and fall, Warren encouraged Biden to find a Fed chair tougher on banks and to stay away from Powell, whom she called a “dangerous man.” Others, including Whitehouse and Merkley, pushed for a candidate who considers climate change a serious threat and would reframe the way banks consider its risks.

Brainard has in recent months delivered speeches on topics including climate change and the race-based economic disparities that the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated.

She told Harvard undergraduates in February that while the Labor Department’s headline unemployment rate is a useful metric, it tends to mask inequalities when taken in isolation. Instead, she said, she considers broad-based and inclusive maximum employment a “critical guidepost for monetary policy.”

Some viewed such speeches as a not-so-subtle attempt to distinguish herself from Powell, who had been reluctant to expand the Fed’s jurisdiction to topics that could be perceived as partisan.

“Brainard was Biden’s obvious choice as Chair were he not to renominate Powell,” PNC Chief Economist Gus Faucher said in an email. “Differences between Powell and Brainard on monetary policy have been slight, but Brainard has generally been stricter on the banking industry than Powell. It was something of a surprise move that Brainard was named Vice Chair, and not Vice Chair for Supervision.”

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was quick to applaud Biden’s decision to promote Brainard. His committee is expected to recommend both Powell and Brainard to the broader Senate, where lawmakers are expected to confirm both appointments by wide margins.

“Dr. Lael Brainard has spent her life fighting for a stronger, fairer economy – one where workers share in the growth and prosperity they create and where their hard work is not gambled away by reckless Wall Street banks,” he said in a release.  

Sen. Pat Toomey, the committee’s top Republican, praised the president’s decision to renominate Powell and said in a release that while he has some concerns about Brainard’s tendency to favor more banking regulation, he looks forward to meeting with her to talk them over.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/22/who-is-lael-brainard-what-to-know-about-biden-fed-vice-chair-pick.html