Five Federal Reserve Board nominees received “yes” votes Wednesday for a recommendation to the Senate for confirmation from all 12 Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee – but none of the 12 Republicans on the committee attended the hearing, and thus did not vote, stalling progress on the nominations.
The committee has not yet scheduled another vote on the nominations.
No Republican senators showed up at Tuesday’s hearing, so there was no quorum. Committee and Senate rules do not allow a vote under that condition.
The Republicans stayed away from the hearing to protest, they said, lack of responses from one of the Fed Board candidates: Sarah Bloom Raskin, nominated also to be vice chair for supervision at the central bank.
Others who were scheduled to be voted on at the executive session of the committee were Jerome H. Powell, to be chair of the Federal Reserve Board; Lael Brainard, to be Fed Board vice chairman; Lisa DeNell Cook, to be a board member; and Philip Nathan Jefferson, also to be a board member.
The nomination of non-Fed Board candidate Sandra Thompson – to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) – was also delayed.