Shelton Nomination To Fed Blocked By Senate

Senate Republicans have blocked President Trump’s controversial Federal Reserve Board nominee, Judy Shelton, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) switched his “yes” vote to “no.”

The move is a setback to President Trump’s efforts to reshape the Fed before he leaves office, assuming his challenges to the 2020 election prove unsuccessful.

🚨BREAKING: Senate voted to BLOCK Judy Shelton’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, a setback to Trump’s drive to reshape the Fed before he leaves office.

Vote was 47-50. McConnell switched his “yes” vote to “no.” That lets him attempt vote again at later date

— Laura Litvan (@LauraLitvan) November 17, 2020

More via Bloomberg: 

McConnell’s plans to confirm Shelton were blown up Tuesday morning when Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley announced he would be in quarantine after exposure to someone who tested positive for Covid-19. GOP Senator Rick Scott of Florida also is in quarantine. Both were expected to back Shelton.

The 66-year-old Shelton is a former informal adviser to Trump, who has advocated for a return to the gold standard, and is known for her hawkish views on inflation, while opposing federal deposit insurance. She later abandoned those views and called for rate cuts, echoing Trump’s rhetoric, as she became a candidate for a Fed post. 

Shelton’s nomination was widely opposed by Democrats – with Jason Furman, former head of the Council of Economic Advisers under Obama recently tweeting that Shelton was the “worst Fed pick in my lifetime.”

Meanwhile, former Fed officials and a group of economists – seven of whom were Nobel Prize winners – signed a letter opposing her nomination. GOP Sens. Mitt Romney and Susan Collins both vowed to vote against Shelton, while Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said he wouldn’t show up for the vote.