[Update 1: Senate approves SIGTARP nominee]
Five nominees selected by the President Barack Obama, including two for vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, moved closer to confirmation in the Senate Thursday.
The Senate Banking Committee approved the nominees on a voice vote roughly a week after they testified before the committee.
The nominees include Harvard University professor Jeremy Stein and former Treasury Department official Jerome Powell for the Fed board, as well as Christy Romero to serve as the permanent special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
The full Senate approved Romero late Thursday, according to a news release from the Senate Banking Committee.
The other nominations also move to a full Senate vote, but it’s unlikely that at least Stein and Powell will be approved on a unanimous vote. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said he plans to oppose Obama’s Fed board nominees, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Vitter’s office told reporters he’s concerned Stein and Powell would stick too closely to policies promoted by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Committee chair Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., said Thursday the nominees have bipartisan support and there’s “no good reason to block their confirmation.”
“We need strong leadership in these posts to solidify our nation’s economic recovery and to help prevent another financial crisis,” Johnson said in a written statement.
— Andrew Scoggin
