President Joe Biden's nominee to the Federal Reserve withdrew her candidacy on Tuesday, ending a weeks-long partisan battle in the Senate over her views on climate policy.
The withdrawal comes a day after Sen. Joe Manchin said he could not support the nomination of the 60-year-old to be the Federal Reserve's vice chair for supervision.
It would have been nearly impossible for her to be confirmed in the Senate because of the split between Democrats and Republicans.
Biden praised the woman and blasted her opponents.
Sarah was subject to baseless attacks from industry and conservative interest groups despite having been confirmed by the Senate twice in the past.
The president said that Senate Republicans are more focused on protecting special interests than on addressing inflation and lowering costs for the American people.
In a letter to Biden, she blamed the attacks by special interests for derailing her nomination.
According to the letter, she fears that many in and outside the Senate are unwilling to acknowledge the economic consequences of climate change and the toll it has placed on Americans.
Sarah Bloom Raskin, nominated to be vice chairman for supervision and a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, speaks before a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 3, 2022.The perils of climate change must be added to the list of serious risks that the Federal Reserve considers as it works to ensure the stability and resilience of our economy and financial system.
As the Biden administration and the Fed are dealing with the highest rate of inflation seen in four decades, the end of her candidacy comes. The Fed has a mandate to control the inflation rate.
Senate Republicans made it clear that they opposed her prior remarks critical of the U.S. fossil fuel industry and her research into bank lending away from major oil, gas and coal producers.
Republicans made an issue of her previous stint on the board of the financial tech company Reserve Trust, which she joined after leaving her post as a deputy Treasury Department secretary.
Reserve Trust got a coveted master account at the Federal Reserve after the company was initially denied that status.
The GOP opposition grew into a full-scale boycott of all of the president's Fed nominees when Democrats insisted that the Biden administration's candidates all be approved at the same hearing. Republicans effectively denied Democrats the necessary votes to hold a legitimate vote.
All five nominees would have been able to advance out of the Banking Committee if Republicans had attended the vote.
The Senate Banking Committee Chairman said that the Republicans had engaged in a disingenuous campaign of distortion and attacks on her character.
Brown said the committee Democrats were united and did their jobs.
But, in the end, opposition from within Biden's own party doomed his nomination.
Her previous public statements have failed to address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation's critical energy needs.
His statement suggested that he didn't have faith in her ability to serve on the central bank.
Manchin gets donations from executives in the energy industry, including support from CEOs Ryan Lance and Vicki Hollub.
Brown said that too many of his colleagues ignored the broad, bipartisan support from community bankers, top economists, cybersecurity experts, state banking regulators, consumer advocates, and so many others.
They fell for talking points written by the oil and gas industry.
The Senate needs to confirm the four qualified nominees for the Board of Governors who are still waiting for a vote.
This group has the experience, judgment, and talent necessary to lead the Federal Reserve, and the Senate should move their nominations forward, according to Biden.
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