The Senate confirmed two new members to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve on Thursday — Jeremy Stein, a Harvard economist who has advised for the current administration, and Jerome Powell, a lawyer and former Treasury undersecretary for President George H.W. Bush.
Both Powell and Stein have worked in bailout-sympathetic administrations and are perceived as willing to come to the aid of Wall Street if needed.
“In unusual and exigent circumstances,” the seven-member Federal Reserve board has the power to bailout banks, but requires a vote of five governors. With the addition of the two most recent nominees, the board will have such a vote.
President Barack Obama made his nominations last December, suggesting both a candidate who has worked for a Republican and one who has worked for a Democrat, in an effort at bipartisan appeasement.
Sen. David Vitter earlier placed a hold on the approval of both nominees over their stance on bank bailouts. Vitter faced significant pressure from Wall Street giants JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, who both supported the president’s nominees.
Harry Reid went forward with a vote despite Vitter’s protests. Both candidates were approved with 70-24 vote.
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