Biden Nominates Michael Barr as Fed Bank Regulator After Raskin Withdrawal

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Joe Biden said on Friday he is planning to nominate Michael Barr as the Fed's big banks regulator in his second attempt to fill the post.

"Today, I am announcing my intent to nominate Michael Barr as the next Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve. Michael brings the expertise and experience necessary for this important position at a critical time for our economy and families across the country," Biden said in statement.

According to Biden, Barr - who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions under President Barack Obama - has played a critical role in protecting consumers.

"I will work with Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown to move Barr’s nomination forward quickly, and urge the Senate to swiftly confirm the four eminently qualified nominees for the Board of Governors—Jerome Powell, Lael Brainard, Philip Jefferson, and Lisa Cook— currently awaiting a vote," the president added.

In March, Biden said that he was withdrawing his nomination of economist Sarah Bloom Raskin to the board of the Federal Reserve due to opposition by Senate Republican rivals, urging them to fast-track instead four other names he put up for governance of the central bank.

Raskin’s nomination was opposed by Senate Republicans who feared she would be too aggressive when in policing climate risks within the financial system and would overstep the unelected central bank’s boundaries. That aside, they alleged that she helped a hedge fund obtain a coveted master account at the Federal Reserve, using her influence as deputy Treasury Department secretary.

Biden expressed regret about the opposition shown toward Raskin, saying her nomination had broad support — from the banking and financial services community, former members of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, multiple Nobel Prize winners, consumer advocates and respected economists from around the country.