Senate Republicans have some serious concerns about President Trump's nomination of Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve board.
Republicans have been "making a behind-the-scenes play" to get Trump to "back off" his nomination of Cain, Politico reported on Tuesday. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said that "there are concerns that are being voiced to the administrations about qualifications" and that the White House is "probably going to hear from a number of our members" about this.
Outside of qualification concerns, there's also the fear that Cain, who hasn't actually been formally nominated yet, is an example of Trump trying to politicize the Federal Reserve. Then there are the fears about what will come up in Cain's background check considering he has already been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. Cain recently said he wasn't sure whether he would make it through the "cumbersome" vetting process, and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) told Politico this comment from Cain is "certainly something for thought."
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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who previously expressed his opposition to Cain's nomination, told Politico, "I don’t think Herman Cain will be on the Federal Reserve board, no." This might all be good news for Stephen Moore, Trump's other recent nominee for the Federal Reserve board, with GOP senators telling Politico opposition to Cain may have actually made Moore's confirmation process easier, as Republicans wouldn't want to reject both Trump picks.
Still, Thune told Politico that at this point, the chances that both Moore and Cain get confirmed are "pretty slim." And while not specifically naming Cain, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Tuesday that before Trump "starts floating names for DHS or the federal reserve," he should speak to Congress about whether they are "confirmable," per The New York Times' Glenn Thrush. This, Cornyn said, would "spare everybody the embarrassment."
