Fed Governor Philip Jefferson testifies before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on his nomination to be the Federal Reserve’s next vice chair, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
WASHINGTON — The Senate Banking Committee approved President Joe Biden’s three nominees to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on Wednesday, teeing up a vote in the total Senate later this yr.
The committee unanimously approved Philip Jefferson as Biden’s nominee for vice chair of the Federal Reserve. If the total Senate confirms him, Jefferson will replace Lael Brainard, who left her position on the Fed to steer Biden’s National Economic Council earlier this yr.
Lisa Cook, who Biden has nominated for a full, 14-year term on the Federal Reserve Board, was approved 13-10 by the panel. Cook first joined the board in 2022, when the total Senate narrowly confirmed her to fill an unexpired term.
The third nominee the committee advanced was Adriana Kugler, whom Biden tapped in May to hitch the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for the primary time. Kugler was also approved 13-10, with all Democrats and South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds voting in favor. Kugler is currently the U.S. representative to the World Bank and executive director of the World Bank Group for the U.S.
If the total Senate approves the three nominees, Kugler, Jefferson, and Cook’s Fed confirmations will all mark milestones in racial and ethnic diversity on America’s interest-rate setting board.
Kugler would develop into the primary Hispanic American on the Fed’s Board of Governors, and Cook would develop into the primary Black woman confirmed for a full term. Jefferson could be only the second Black person to carry the vice chair position within the history of the Fed board.
The Senate committee votes got here at a fragile moment for the central bank, as its governors grapple with when, and the way high, to boost rates of interest again this yr.
The present string of hikes goals to counteract high inflation, but Fed moves take time to soak into the broader economy. Inflation rose 0.2% in June, and three% yr over yr, as price increases began to slow.
Last month, the Federal Reserve paused a series of 10 consecutive rate hikes that began in March 2022, which have added 5 percentage points to the benchmark federal funds rate.
Recent data shows that soaring rates of interest are a significant factor in hundreds of thousands of Americans’ decisions about whether to purchase or sell a house, or take out a automotive loan.
On Wednesday, the common rate for a well-liked 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.96%, in response to Mortgage News Day by day. That is 4 percentage points higher, on average, than it was on July 12, 2021, when it dropped to close historic lows.