Trump Fed board pick draws more opposition

Sen. Lamar Alexander, RTenn., on Monday said he would not support the nomination of Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, narrowing the path for the economist’s confirmation in the final months of the Trump presidency.

Alexander joins Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who said over the summer that they would vote “no.”

“I oppose the nomination of Judy Shelton because I am not convinced that she supports the independence of the Federal Reserve Board as much as I believe the Board of Governors should,” Alexander said in a statement to the Washington Post. “I don’t want to turn over management of the money supply to a Congress and a President who can’t balance the federal budget.”

Shelton’s nomination to the Fed board has been controversial from the start. In her past writings and remarks, Shelton has said the Fed harnesses too much power and should be reined in. Shelton, who advised Trump’s 2016 presidential run, has also caused lawmakers to question her commitment to the Fed’s independence from the White House, a core part of the central bank’s reputation and authority. She has also been outspoken against the Fed as an institution.

On policy, Shelton has also called for a return to the gold standard, which the nation fully abandoned in 1971.

Democrats are also expected to oppose Shelton’s nomination, and Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. It is unclear whether Vice President Mike Pence, who is marshaled in to break ties in the Senate, will have to do so; a spokesman for Alexander said he will not be in Washington this week due to family matters, so he won’t be present to vote on the nomination if it occurs this week.

But Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is expected to support Shelton, will be in quarantine this week, according to spokesman Chris Hartline, after coming into contact with someone Friday night in Naples, Fla., who later tested positive for the coronavirus.

If Scott and Alexander both miss the vote, it could come down to a 49-49 tie if Vice President-elect Kamala Harris votes. In that scenario, Pence would be needed to break the tie.