Lisa DeNell Cook will be the next governor of the Federal Reserve Board once she is sworn in, following a confirmation vote by the full Senate Tuesday.
Cook was confirmed by a vote of 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris (D) casting the tie-breaking vote.
That result came after an earlier, 50-49 tally (along party lines) to shut off debate on her nomination and proceed to a final vote.
Cook was nominated to fill the remainder of a 14-year term that began Feb. 1, 2010 (that is, until 2024). She fills a seat that saw two previous nominees both withdraw from consideration. Those were Nellie Liang (today the Treasury under secretary for domestic finance – responsible for policy on financial institutions, financial markets, and more) and Judy Shelton (a controversial nominee who drew criticism for her past views about reinstituting the gold standard, questioning the effectiveness of federal deposit insurance, and the Fed’s independence from political influence).
Cook is the first African-American woman to sit on the board of governors.
Two more candidates for Fed nominees remain to be confirmed: Jerome H. (“Jay”) Powell for a second, four-year term as Fed chair, and Philip N. Jefferson, as a Fed Board member nominated to a 14-year term that would expire in January 2036. The Senate has yet to schedule either for consideration.