Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Monday announced he will not be supporting President Biden's pick for the Federal Reserve vice chair of supervision — Sarah Bloom Raskin — due to her stance on climate change, The Hill reports.
Raskin is already contending with a GOP-led boycott of a committee vote on her nomination, "effectively blocking her confirmation from advancing to the Senate floor," Politico writes. Now, even if her nomination is able to eventually advance out of the committee, Raskin will need at least one Republican to vote for her. Unfortunately, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee — Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey — told Bloomberg he's currently "not aware" of any Republican support for Raskin, further dooming her chances.
In his opposition announcement, Manchin said Raskin has "failed to satisfactorily address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation's critical energy needs."
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"I have come to the conclusion that I am unable to support her nomination to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board," he continued.
The lawmaker also flagged the Fed board as an instituion that should not "politicize its critical decisions," suggesting he believes Raskin would in fact do so.
"I will not support any future nominee that does not respect these critical priorities," he added.
In the immediate aftermath, the White House appeared poised to double down on Raskin's nomination, despite the Manchin-shaped cloud now hanging over the process.
Raskin, 60, "has written in the past in support of the Fed increasing its attention to financial risks from climate change, but said in her confirmation hearing the central bank had no place in mandating how capital should be allocated among industries," Bloomberg notes. Manchin represents the coal-rich state of West Virginia.
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