Manchin comes out against Biden Fed nominee Raskin, throwing her confirmation into doubt

Manchin’s statement Monday suggested that he doesn’t believe Raskin, who has previously called for stronger climate policies and critiqued the energy sector, could serve on the Fed without politicizing her decisions.

“The Federal Reserve Board is not an institution that should politicize its critical decisions,” Manchin said. “The time has come for the Federal Reserve Board to return to its defining principles and dual mandate of controlling inflation by ensuring stable prices and maximum employment. I will not support any future nominee that does not respect these critical priorities.”

Many of Manchin’s top donors include executives in the coal, oil and gas industries. Within the past year, Manchin has received donations from Ryan Lance, CEO of ConocoPhillips, Vicki Hollub, CEO of Occidental Petroleum, and R. Lane Riggs, the president of Valero Energy. 

His remarks cap a weekslong standoff between Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee, where the GOP has boycotted a vote on the president’s candidates out of opposition to Raskin.

Republicans, led by Banking Committee ranking member Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, have said they are open to holding a vote on Powell, Brainard, Cook and Jefferson. But Democrats, led by the White House and Brown, have said they will hold a vote only if all of the nominees are included.

“As Senator Manchin suggested today, Ms. Raskin’s past advocacy for having the Federal Reserve allocate capital and discriminate against traditional energy companies would not only politicize the Fed, but weaken economic growth at a crucial moment in history,” Toomey said in a press release Monday afternoon.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/14/joe-manchin-opposes-sarah-bloom-raskin-federal-reserve-nomination.html