President Joe Biden’s effort to build a more diverse, climate-conscious Federal Reserve faces its first hurdle Tuesday as the Senate Banking Committee votes on whether to advance five nominees to the full Senate for consideration.
The committee is working to advance nominees who would fill the Fed board for the first time in years as the central bank faces soaring inflation, the economic uncertainty of the pandemic and demands by at least some to put climate change on its agenda.
“We must have a fully functioning Federal Reserve Board, with all seven members, ready to meet these challenges. Ready to ensure our economy continues to prosper. It’s been almost a decade since we’ve had all seven board members,” Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said at the confirmation hearing this month. “That’s what makes this so urgent.”
