Sarah Bloom Raskin withdrew her nomination to a position on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors after a key Democrat had joined with all Senate Republicans to oppose her confirmation, the Associated Press reported. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced that he opposed Raskin’s confirmation, and all Republicans in the evenly-split 50-50 Senate had indicated that they planned to block her nomination for the position of the Fed’s top banking regulator. Republicans have argued that Raskin would use the Fed’s regulatory authority to discourage banks from lending to oil and gas companies. Democrats, as well as many banking executives, countered that Raskin’s views aren’t out of the mainstream and said she simply wants the Fed to consider the risks that climate change poses to banks, insurance companies and other financial firms. President Joe Biden, who nominated Raskin in January, said she had “unparalleled experience” in areas like cybersecurity, climate change, and consumer protection. Raskin’s nomination had been stuck in the Senate Banking Committee after Republicans unanimously refused to vote on it in an effort to prevent her being approved on a party-line vote. Raskin previously served as Fed governor from 2010 through 2014 and then as the deputy Treasury secretary. She was approved unanimously by the Senate to both positions.
