In a reversal, West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said Monday he will oppose President Biden’s nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to serve on the Federal Reserve Board. Manchin’s change of position all but dooms Raskin’s prospect of confirmation, which is opposed by all 50 Senate Republicans, including Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins. Sarah Bloom Raskin has vowed to focus on how the climate crisis threatens the economy. Last month, Democracy Now! asked Raskin’s husband, Democratic Congressmember Jamie Raskin, why Republicans opposed her nomination.
Rep. Jamie Raskin: “All of this is about things that she has said or written about climate change. She has said, of course, that she will follow the law and act completely within the dual mandate of the Fed. But what they’re attacking is the idea that there can be citizens who are fully aware of climate change, who take it seriously, who can serve honorably and lawfully in other capacities.”