Kek
Biden to nominate Michael Barr as Fed’s top banking regulator
President Biden on Friday announced that he would nominate Michael Barr to be the Federal Reserve’s top banking regulator, making a second attempt to fill the role after his first nominee did not have the votes to be confirmed in the Senate.
Barr is a law professor at the University of Michigan and served as the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for financial institutions under the Obama administration. He was a key player in the creation and passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 following the 2008 financial crisis.
“Michael brings the expertise and experience necessary for this important position at a critical time for our economy and families across the country,” Biden said in a statement Friday morning.
Biden also said that Barr, if confirmed, would play a critical role as the Fed looks to fight inflation.
“Since I took office, the economy has created nearly 8 million jobs, and millions of families have the dignity a paycheck can provide and a little bit more breathing room. I know that rising prices and inflation are straining families’ budgets,” Biden continued.
“While I’m doing everything in my power to lower prices for families, the Federal Reserve plays a critical role in fighting inflation and Barr will make a strong Vice-Chair Supervision, joining my other nominees for the Federal Reserve that the Senate is considering,” he said.
The nomination comes exactly a month after Biden’s first nominee, Sarah Bloom Raskin, withdrew from consideration after it became clear she would not have the support needed to win confirmation in the 50-50 Senate.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and moderate Republicans had expressed opposition to her nomination, closing the pathway to confirmation.
In selecting Barr, Biden appears confident his new nominee will receive broader support. In his statement, Biden said that Barr “has strong support from across the political spectrum – and has been confirmed by the Senate on a bipartisan basis.”
Barr was previously confirmed to the Treasury Department post by a voice vote in May 2009.
The Senate is currently out on a two-week recess and will return at the end of April.
Barr will need to sit for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee and be advanced by that panel before he can receive a vote on the Senate floor. That means it will be at least a handful of weeks before he can be confirmed, even if the process moves smoothly.
https://thehill.com/news/administration/3269402-biden-to-nominate-michael-barr-as-feds-top-banking-regulator/
U.S. weighs sending top-level official to meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv
The U.S. official, which will most likely be a Cabinet member, will follow European leaders who have already made the symbolic visit.
The Biden administration is holding internal discussions about sending a high-level official to Kyiv to show further support to Ukraine, two U.S. officials told POLITICO.
No decision on the potential visit has yet been made as deliberations continue inside the White House. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris remain candidates to represent the U.S. in the Ukrainian capital, though it’s far more likely that a Cabinet member like Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will go, the officials said.
Both Biden and Harris have recently traveled to Poland, a frontline NATO country that borders Ukraine.
A U.S. official visiting Kyiv would be the latest in a parade of Western figures meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In recent weeks, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the trip, while the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland met Wednesday with Zelenskyy in the capital.
If the administration decides to send someone to Kyiv, it is understood that there won’t be an announcement in advance, due to security reasons. The timing of any potential trip is uncertain and officials cautioned that it may not happen at all due to the fluid nature of the war.
The trip would be highly symbolic for both Washington and Kyiv. The U.S. would affirm its commitment to Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s invasion, while Ukraine would get to host a top American official in the capital, just weeks after forcing Russian troops to retreat.
The visit would also come after Biden authorized an additional $800 million in military assistance, putting the total U.S. aid to Ukraine above $3 billion since the new administration came to power.
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/13/us-visit-zelenskyy-kyiv-00025050
I wish they would send Kamala to once again make a fool of herself. They won’t send her though.
Any thoughts on who it’ll be? I’m guessing Blinken.