The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has the extraordinary responsibility to safeguard the financial system of the United States. The U.S. Senate knows this, and we take seriously our responsibility to confirm nominees to serve at the Federal Reserve.
As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, I recently voted to support the nominations of Jay Powell, Lael Brainard and Philip Jefferson to the board of governors. I believe they are smart, qualified and capable, and look forward to working with each of them.
Unfortunately, other recent Fed actions and nominations that have occurred under President Biden’s watch cause me to question whether the Fed is losing sight of its core mission in our system of government. In particular, personal financial gain and political causes have crept into the Fed in the eyes of some, which reflects poorly on the institution as a whole — especially given its enormous independence and power over our daily lives.
First, there is the Fed’s decision to consistently ignore letters and oversight from Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey, who
These issues are wholly outside the mission of the Fed. Lest readers question that mission, it is “
This is a dispassionate, apolitical vision that requires the Fed to follow the law and serve the American people, not to adopt
While some regional Federal Reserve banks, and not the board of governors, are responsible for these misadventures into the political arena, the
Just last year,
My home state of Wyoming has also suffered from a Federal Reserve that has consistently failed to follow the law and has frustrated responsible innovation. Wyoming’s special-purpose depository institutions are the first attempt to responsibly integrate digital assets into the U.S. banking system and are
To top it off, President Biden recently nominated Sarah Bloom Raskin to serve at the Fed. Raskin had previously made troubling statements about using the Fed to
These kinds of actions must stop. The American people give their government incredible power, and in return they expect officials to act in good faith. With great power comes great responsibility.
The Fed has increasingly appeared disinterested in doing its important, clearly defined job and more interested in doing mine.
As an elected official, it is my job to consider the concerns of my constituents and turn them into policy. It is the Fed’s job to faithfully execute the policies that my colleagues and I enact within the Fed’s narrowly enumerated statutory powers.
This is all I want from President Biden’s nominees. I want a commitment to fulfill the Fed’s mission, not a partisan interpretation of what it could or should be. I want nominees whose past shows a commitment to serving others, not themselves, and a strong command of economics and financial regulation.
The Fed has not been tasked with creating a managed economy, but protecting a free one. As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, I have been tasked with making sure the Fed sticks to this mission. All I ask is that future nominees to the Fed understand this responsibility, and will commit to it.