Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, listens during a Senate Small Business Committee hearing on Coronavirus Relief Aid and “CARES Act Title I Implementation”, in Washington, USA, June 10 2020.
Al Drago | Reuters
Senator Mitt Romney plans to vote against Judy Shelton’s controversial nomination for the Federal Reserve, the Utah Republican told reporters on Thursday.
Speaking just two days after Shelton obtained key approval from the Senate banking committee, Romney said he will not join his party in supporting President Donald Trump’s nomination.
“I am not going to endorse Judy Shelton’s nomination for the Federal Reserve,” Romney told reporters, according to a report in The Hill. “I am going to vote against it.”
Romney’s opposition means that if three other Republican senators defect, that would kill the nomination for the central bank’s board of governors.
Romney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Shelton received committee approval by a vote of 13 to 12 parties. His nomination, which Trump announced more than a year ago, struggled over past views on the gold standard, Fed independence, and bank deposit insurance, among other things.
That Romney would oppose the nomination is not entirely surprising given his contentious relationship with Trump. It is unclear if anyone will join her, although Shelton received intense questions from both parties at her February confirmation hearing.
In contrast, his fellow candidate, St. Louis Fed Vice President Christopher Waller, saw little scrutiny, although seven Democrats voted against him on the committee.
If both are confirmed, that would fill the balance of the Fed’s governorates, six of which would be named by Trump.
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