The nominee for Federal Reserve vice chair for supervision took an important step Wednesday to being confirmed after a Senate committee recommended him to the full body to take the seat.
The Senate Banking Committee voted 17-7 to recommend confirmation of Michael Barr as Fed supervision vice chair for a four-year term ending in 2026. The vote tally included all Democrats and five Republicans: Ranking Member Pat Toomey (Pa.), Tim Scott (S.C.), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming), and Jerry Moran (Kansas).
Barr, a former Treasury official, was nominated by President Joe Biden (D) in April, following withdrawal of a previous Biden nominee, Sarah Bloom Raskin, from consideration. Raskin withdrew after it became apparent she could not gain support from Republican senators and one Democrat (Sen. Joel Manchin, W.Va.).
If confirmed, Barr would succeed in the position Randal Quarles, who was the first to hold the position, which essentially oversees Federal Reserve supervision of banks and savings associations. Quarles resigned from the Fed Board in December after four years on the panel; his four-year term as chief supervisor for the agency ended in October.