WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called on the White House on Tuesday to replace Sarah Bloom Raskin with a different nominee to become the Federal Reserve’s top bank regulator.
“President Biden’s selection wildly – wildly – missed the mark. It’s past time the White House admit their mistake and send us somebody suitable,” McConnell said in a floor speech, noting that Raskin now faces bipartisan opposition.
Her nomination, already stalled by Republican opposition in the evenly split Senate, was dealt a heavy blow on Monday after she lost the backing of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.
The White House is seeking Republican support to compensate for the loss of Manchin’s vote. But two leading Senate Republican moderates, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have signaled their opposition in a sign that Republican support may not be forthcoming.
Manchin and Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns that Raskin would further a green energy policy at the Fed and distract the central bank from its customary focus on monetary policy at a time of high inflation.
“Ms Raskin would have been a vice chair who sought to raise gas prices, raise home heating costs, and undermine the very institution of the Federal Reserve in the process. It’s not surprising there’s bipartisan Senate opposition,” McConnell said.
(Reporting by David Morgan and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci)
