Washington Examiner, February 1, 2022, Biden Fed nominee faces grilling over reparations and police reform
The battle over a Biden Federal Reserve nominee is escalating as Republicans prepare to grill her over her outspoken political advocacy, including her political support for reparations and policing reform, and Democrats accuse her critics of bias.
Lisa Cook, a professor of economics at Michigan State University who served under President Barack Obama as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers, was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve on the Fed’s Board of Governors. During her confirmation hearing Thursday, Republicans are planning to highlight her past political remarks and social media use to raise questions about her commitment to remaining nonpartisan as a top Fed official.
Cook, if confirmed, would be the first black woman to serve on the central bank’s board. She hails from a family of civil rights activists with ties to civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. Some liberals are hoping that her experience with the intersection of race and economics will help further the central bank’s diversity initiatives, although some Republicans are fearful that she is too partisan for the role.
