Biden Nominates Three Women and Black Candidates for Fed Board Positions

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his intention to pursue changes in the white-centered monetary policy decision-making structure by appointing women and African Americans to senior positions at the Federal Reserve (Fed).

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 14th (local time), the White House announced that President Biden nominated Sarah Bloom Raskin, former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, as Vice Chair for Supervision at the Fed, and Lisa Cook, a professor at Michigan State University, and Philip Jefferson, a professor at Davidson College, as Fed Governors.

Raskin, the nominee, served as a Fed Governor from 2010 to 2014 during the Barack Obama administration and as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury from 2014 to 2017. She is known as a progressive financial regulator. During her tenure as a Fed Governor, she played a significant role in the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, a financial regulatory law.

Cook and Jefferson, nominated as Governors, are African American. If confirmed by the Senate, Cook will become the first African American woman Governor in the 108-year history of the Fed, and Jefferson will become the fourth African American male Governor in history.

If all three nominees confirmed by the Senate hearings on the day pass, among the seven Fed Governors, four will be women and two will be African Americans. The Fed Board of Governors consists of one Chair, two Vice Chairs, and four Governors.

President Biden emphasized, "Together with Chair Jerome Powell and Vice Chair Lael Brainard (nominee), they will provide the Fed Board with the necessary expertise, judgment, and leadership, while also bringing diverse thoughts and perspectives never seen before."