President Biden’s recent nominees for the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, Sarah Bloom Raskin, Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson, are all incredibly well qualified professionals and merit Senate confirmation. However, ignoring their experience and qualifications, some critics have misleadingly cherry-picked and distorted their records, particularly with Ms. Raskin’s views regarding climate. However, as detailed in the Fact Check Memo that was released on January 31, 2021, Ms. Raskin’s actual statements and views on climate align with Fed Chair Powell, former Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Randy Quarles, the biggest banks on Wall Street, financial industry leaders, and others.
It is especially disappointing and noteworthy that in addition to cherry-picking quotes and distorting her views, Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Senator Toomey, in his January 25th letter to President Biden, actually made up an inflammatory statement that he attributed to Ms. Raskin. In purported support for this charge, his letter cited a speech Ms. Raskin delivered, but nothing like that made-up statement is in the speech or, for that matter, anywhere else because Ms. Raskin has never said the made-up statement.
While these ideological and, at times, apparently poll-driven political attacks may play well with some base voters, they have no place in what should be a fact-based confirmation process. The country faces enormous economic and financial challenges, and the Fed faces historic and unprecedented policy decisions. Those challenges and decisions will significantly impact every American family. Those are the issues that should be the focus of the confirmation process.
