Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., on Monday said he would not support the nomination of Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve's board of governors, narrowing the path for the controversial economist's confirmation in the final months of the Trump presidency.
Alexander joins Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who said they would vote "no" over the summer.
"I oppose the nomination of Judy Shelton because I am not convinced that she supports the independence of the Federal Reserve Board as much as I believe the Board of Governors should," Alexander said in a statement. "I don't want to turn over management of the money supply to a Congress and a President who can't balance the federal budget."
Shelton's nomination to the Fed board has been controversial from the start. In her past writings and remarks, Shelton has said the Fed harnesses too much power and should be reined in. Shelton, who advised Trump's 2016 presidential run, has also caused lawmakers to question her commitment to the Fed's independence from the White House, a core part of the central bank's reputation and authority. She has also been outspoken against the Fed as an institution.
Before the coronavirus pandemic thrust the economy into a sudden recession, Shelton altered some of her views to appear in closer agreement with Trump's aggressive push for lower interest rates. On policy, Shelton has also called for a return to the gold standard, which the nation fully abandoned in 1971.
There's widespread agreement that the Fed's seven-seat board benefits from a range of perspectives and opinions. But Shelton's critics say her views make her too much of an outlier to set monetary policy at the central bank, and that the stakes are especially high as the economy fights its way out of the covid crisis.
Democrats are also expected to oppose Shelton's nomination, and Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. It is unclear whether Vice President Mike Pence, who is marshaled in to break ties in the Senate, will have to do so; a spokesman for Alexander said he will not be in Washington this week due to family matters.
But Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is expected to support Shelton, will be in quarantine this week, according to spokesman Chris Hartline, after coming into contact with someone Friday night in Naples, Fla., who later tested positive for the coronavirus.
