Biden proposes the former Treasury Department to oversee the banks of the Federal Reserve

United States President Joe Biden this Friday appointed Michael Barr, a former senior Treasury official, to serve as Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed) responsible for overseeing banking entities.

Biden made the announcement in a statement just one month after he withdrew Sarah Blum Raskin’s nomination for the position on March 15, because he did not have enough support in the Senate to confirm it to move forward.

Barr worked for the US Treasury during Barack Obama’s presidency (2009-2017) and played a critical role in drafting the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which set the new rules of the game for Wall Street after the crisis. 2008 financing.

“Michael brings the expertise and knowledge needed for this important role at a critical time for our economy and for families across the country,” Biden said in the nomination announcement.

If confirmed by the Senate, Barr will be responsible for overseeing the behavior of the largest banks in the United States and determining the capital reserves they must maintain to ensure their viability.

Biden’s former nominee for the job, Raskin, has promised greater efforts from the Federal Reserve to analyze how climate change threatens the financial stability and economy of the United States, which has earned her opposition from both Republicans and some Democrats.

In that sense, although the White House blamed the Republican Party for the failure at the time, what really dampened Biden’s nominee choices was Democratic Senator Joe Manchin’s opposition, a key support since the Progressives received only 51 votes (half the vote). room plus one), so to pass any action they need to get 100% of their rank.

Manchin is closely associated with the mining sector in West Virginia, one of the more conservative states in the country, and has always tried to distance himself from the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party.