Michael Barr, Fed Vice Chair Nominee, Confirmed by Senate

Michael Barr, Nominee for Fed Vice Chairman
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Michael Barr, the nominee for Vice Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), passed the Senate vote for confirmation on the 13th (local time).

According to The Wall Street Journal, the confirmation for Vice Chair Barr passed with 66 votes in favor and 28 against. He will serve as the Vice Chair for Supervision at the Fed for a four-year term. Earlier, the Senate also confirmed Barr's nomination as a Fed Board member. His term as a Fed Board member is 10 years.

He is the fifth Fed Board member appointed by President Joe Biden since taking office. With Barr filling the vacant Vice Chair position, the Fed Board now has all seven seats filled for the first time in nearly 10 years, consisting of one Chair, two Vice Chairs, and four Board members.

After Sarah Bloom Raskin, the former Deputy Treasury Secretary nominee, failed to gain congressional approval and withdrew, President Biden nominated Michael Barr, former Deputy Treasury Secretary, as the Fed Vice Chair for Supervision in April. During the May confirmation hearing, Vice Chair nominee Barr eased Republican lawmakers' concerns by stating that the Fed does not have the authority to direct banks not to lend to the oil and gas sector.

Barr served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Treasury Department during the Barack Obama administration and was involved in the enactment of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law. He currently serves as Dean of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

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