Biden Nominates Jefferson for Fed Vice Chairman and Adriana Kugler for Governor

US President Joe Biden on Friday named Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson as vice president of the central bank, a key policy advisory role left vacant when Lael Brainard took over a senior role in the House economic team. White.

Biden also nominated US World Bank CEO Adriana Kugler for the job of Fed governor, adding a labor economist to the top of the bank at a time when policymakers are weighing how much higher to raise interest rates. interest and cool a strong labor market that several of them, including Chairman Jerome Powell, see as exacerbating inflation.

“These candidates understand that this job is non-partisan, but rather plays a critical role in finding top jobs, maintaining price stability, and overseeing many of our country’s financial institutions,” Biden said in a statement. .

“I am confident that these nominees will help consolidate the historically strong economic recovery that we have had under my administration,” he added.

Kugler, a Colombian-American, would be the first Latina in history on the Fed’s Board of Governors, thus responding to the long-standing complaints of Senator Bob Menéndez, an influential Democrat who has denounced the historic absence of Hispanics at the top of the central bank US.

For that reason, Menendez was one of only five Democrats who opposed Biden’s reappointment of Powell last year. Both Jefferson and Kugler must win confirmation from a highly divided Senate.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter and instagram.