The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on November 18, 2021, to consider the nomination of Dr. Saule Omarova to be the Comptroller of the Currency.
The nominee for comptroller of the currency withdrew her name from consideration on Tuesday.
Republican senators had concerns about the writings of the Cornell University professor, who was raised in the former Soviet Union.
At her Banking Committee confirmation hearing last month, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., made a joke about whether to call her professor or comrade.
Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said that he was concerned about Professor Omarova because of her long history of promoting ideas that she herself describes as radical.
I agree with you that they are radical. I would describe them as socialist.
The lack of support for her nomination by several moderate Democrats, including Mark Warner of Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana, was due to her opposition to a bill that had lifted some regulatory restrictions on banks.
Democrats hold the slimmest majority in the Senate, with a 50-member caucus, so the defection of even a single member of that caucus will doom any nomination opposed unanimously by Republicans.
Biden said that the personal attacks on the woman were far beyond the pale.
Saule was nominated by Biden because of her deep expertise in financial regulation and her long-standing, respected career in the private sector, the public sector and as a leading academic in the field.
Saule was a strong advocate for consumers and a defender of the safety and soundness of our financial system.
Omarova is one of the most qualified nominees ever for this job because of her experience as a policymaker in the private sector and in academia.
Powerful interests distorted Professor Omarova's views and writings despite her bipartisan record.
They have attacked her family, heritage, and her commitment to American ideals in a campaign reminiscent of red scare McCarthyism. I am disappointed that the attacks and misrepresentations of Professor Omarova were not rejected in a bipartisan way.
It was a great honor and a true privilege to be nominated by President Biden to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
I value President Biden's trust in my abilities and remain firmly committed to the Administration's vision of a prosperous, inclusive, and just future for our country. It is no longer possible for me to continue as a Presidential nominee.
Two-thirds of the U.S. banking system is regulated by the comptroller of the currency.
