Joe Biden's Nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin Withdraws Bid for Federal Reserve After Sen. Joe Manchin, Republicans Object Her Stance

After a prominent Democrat joined all Senate Republicans in opposing her confirmation, Sarah Bloom Raskin withdrew her nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on Tuesday.

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia declared his opposition to Sarah Bloom Raskin's confirmation on Monday, and all Republicans in the evenly divided 50-50 Senate said they expected to filibuster her candidacy for the job of the Fed's top banking regulator.

Raskin was nominated by President Joe Biden in January, and he stated she had "unparalleled experience" in areas such as cybersecurity, climate change, and consumer protection. "Sarah was subjected to baseless assaults from industry and conservative interest groups," the president said in a statement. Raskin has Biden's "full support," according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Her nomination has hung in the balance in recent weeks as Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee boycotted her vote, citing her stint on the board of a Colorado payments firm that had access to Fed payments systems when she was on the board. Not only has the boycott slowed her progress, but it has also slowed voting on President Biden's other Fed nominees, according to PBS NewsHour.

"'Unfortunately, Senate Republicans are more concerned with propagating these bogus allegations and defending special interests than with taking critical actions to combat inflation and cut expenses for the American people.' I appreciate Sarah's service to our nation and her desire to serve again, and I look forward to her future contributions," he said,

Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, said he would not vote for Raskin on Monday morning. Later in the day, Republican moderate Senator Susan Collins announced her opposition to the bill, as per The Washington Post via MSN.

Republicans Doubt Sarah Bloom Raskin's Record

If no Republicans back Biden's nominee in the 50-50 Senate, he'll need every Democrat to vote for him. Raskin's route to confirmation was made more difficult by Manchin and Collins' no votes. Raskin has become the most divisive of Biden's five nominations to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, with Republicans claiming she would use her position to push the Fed toward supervisory measures that would penalize banks that lend to fossil fuel businesses.

Her resignation may now allow the Senate to vote on the four remaining nominees, including Jerome Powell for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees Fed candidates, have stymied the process by refusing to attend voting sessions over their opposition to Raskin's candidacy for vice chair of supervision.

Raskin has been married to Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland's 8th congressional district, since 1990. Together, they had three children, one of whom passed away. On January 14, 2022, Biden nominated Raskin, 60, to lead the Federal Reserve. Before that, in November 2020, it was reported that Biden was considering her for the position of Treasury Secretary, and in 2021, she was cited as a possible contender to run the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Raskin was sworn in as Treasury's second-in-command on March 12, 2014, making her the department's highest-ranking woman at the time. Raskin concentrated on cyber security and the macroeconomic implications of student loan borrowing throughout her term, Daily Mail reported.