Washington, DC — Today, Sarah Bloom Raskin withdrew her candidacy for the Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, a day after Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a known conservative Democrat, stated he would not support her nomination. Manchin suggested he lacked faith that Raskin could serve on the central bank without “politicizing” her decisions based on her prior climate remarks. Manchin is known for his ties to the fossil fuel lobby and CEOs.
This withdrawal comes as well after weeks of obstruction by Republicans who would not show up to vote for Biden’s Federal Reserve nomination slate. Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, the senior Republican on the committee, led the Republican charge to oppose her nomination.
Brooke Harper, 350 U.S. Campaign Manager made the following statement on the nominations:
“We are extremely disappointed that partisan politics and fossil fuel interests are the cause for the highly-qualified Sarah Bloom Raskin to withdraw her nomination. Biden appointed the most-qualified and diverse Federal Reserve Board of Governors nominees in our nation’s history. With inflation at an all time high, ongoing climate impacts like the Florida wildfires, wildfires, and an economy in crisis — everyday Americans are suffering. Our country needs a fully-functional Federal Reserve and we need our leaders to stop playing obstructionist games. After this tremendous setback and loss, we need our Senators to step up and confirm Biden’s nominees to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors without delay.
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For more on the Fossil Free Federal Reserve campaign, explore: linktr.ee/fossilfreefed