Senate banking panel to vote on Fed nominees Wednesday By Reuters

(Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will vote on Wednesday on whether to advance President Joe Biden’s pick for the Federal Reserve’s next vice chair, current Fed Governor Philip Jefferson, for consideration by the full Senate.

The panel will also vote on Fed Governor Lisa Cook, re-nominated for a 14-year term, and Fed Board nominee Adriana Kugler, a labor economist at the World Bank, according to an emailed notice on Friday.

Since they became Fed governors last year, Cook and Jefferson have both supported the U.S. central bank’s interest rates hikes, and in their nomination hearing last month reiterated their determination to fight too-high inflation.

They both also joined the unanimous Fed vote last month to hold rates steady at 5%-5.25%, even as the central bank signaled that further policy tightening is likely.

Jefferson’s elevation to vice chair would put him in an influential role in shaping monetary policy at the U.S. central bank.

The Senate overwhelmingly supported his nomination to his current post but Republican opposition to Cook forced a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris to clinch her approval.

It is unclear how the votes will go this time around, although Biden’s Democrats hold a slim majority on the Senate panel and control the overall Senate by a slight margin.