Vice President Kamala Harris voted against Jerome Powell's first nomination as Fed Chair in 2018
White House official said president consulted 'a wide array of people inside and outside of the Administration as he was making this decision--including the Vice President'
Biden taps Powell for new term as Fed chairman
President Biden nominates Jerome Powell for a second term and Federal Reserve chairman. UBS managing director Jason Katz weighs in.
Vice President Kamala Harris voted against Jerome Powell’s first nomination to lead the Federal Reserve during her time in the Senate in 2018 -- a vote resurfacing as President Biden announced his intent to nominate him for a second term.
In January 2018, during the Trump administration, Powell’s nomination to lead the Federal Reserve came before the Senate. The vote to confirm Powell was 84 to 13, with three senators not voting.
BIDEN TAPS JEROME POWELL FOR SECOND TERM AS FED CHAIR, SPURNING PROGRESSIVES
Harris, at the time a Democratic senator from California, along with a dozen of her Senate colleagues, voted against Powell’s nomination, including Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, Cory Booker, D-N.J., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ed Markey, D-Mass., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
President Biden on Monday announced his intent to nominate Powell for a second term as chair of the Federal Reserve and Lael Brainard to serve as vice chair.
A White House official on Monday told FOX Business that the president consulted "a wide array of people inside and outside of the Administration as he was making this decision – including the Vice President."
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The official said the president's "entire team agrees that Chair Powell will ably lead the Federal Reserve in delivering on its goals of full employment and low inflation."
"Since he was first considered four years ago, Chair Powell has shown strong leadership in the face of some of the deepest challenges our economy has ever faced," the official continued. "And President Biden believes strongly that Powell will provide stability and independence at a key moment as our economy continues to recover."
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Biden, upon announcing his nomination, touted the "remarkable progress" made over the last 10 months.
"That success is a testament to the economic agenda I’ve pursued and to the decisive action that the Federal Reserve has taken under Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard to help steer us through the worst downturn in modern American history and put us on the path to recovery," Biden said.
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Biden said he is "confident" that Powell and Brainard’s "focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable, and delivering full employment will make our economy stronger than ever before."
"Together, they also share my deep belief that urgent action is needed to address the economic risks posed by climate change, and stay ahead of emerging risks in our financial system," Biden said. "Fundamentally, if we want to continue to build on the economic success of this year we need stability and independence at the Federal Reserve – and I have full confidence after their trial by fire over the last 20 months that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard will provide the strong leadership our country needs."