Senate Confirms Brainard, Biden Nominates Barr for Vice-Chair of Supervision

The U.S. Senate recently voted 52-43 to confirm Lael Brainard who will serve as the Vice-Chair of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Dr. Brainard has held a seat on the Board of Governors since 2014 when she was nominated by then President Barrack Obama. The Senate is still expecting to vote on Jerome Powell’s nomination to serve another four-year term as Fed Chair. President Biden also nominated the economists Philip N. Jefferson and Lisa D. Cook to fill two open governor positions, their nominations are pending as well. Earlier in April, after Sarah Bloom Raskin withdrew her name from consideration for the Vice-Chair of Supervision role, President Biden nominated Michael S. Barr as the Fed’s vice chair for supervision. Barr served in the Obama Administration as the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s assistant secretary for financial institutions, and was a key architect of the Dodd-Frank Act. He also served the National Economic Council in the White House. In the Clinton Administration, he served as Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin’s special assistant, as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury, and as special adviser to President clinton. The Senate banking committee is likely to hold a hearing on Barr’s nomination in the coming months.