Fed Appointments Have Become a Political Minefield

For occupants of the White House, filling open slots on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors used to be little more than an afterthought – if they even remembered to do it at all. The Obama administration let the Fed languish with two unfilled board seats for its entire first term. Things changed under the Trump administration, a time when Donald Trump broke with tradition and openly criticized the central bank for policies that he believed undermined him.

In response, Trump attempted to stack the Fed with radical candidates to carry out his agenda but really had no business being anywhere near the central bank, including one who advocated putting the US economy back on the gold standard. Rejected by Congress, lawmakers were suddenly on high alert for candidates who were nominated more for their political views than their views on the Fed’s dual mandate of full employment and stable prices. The Biden administration found this out after nominating Sarah Bloom Raskin, who had formerly served on the Fed’s Board of Governors. Raskin’s nomination tanked last year because of her advocacy for policies seen to be harmful to the fossil fuel industry.