Key Senator Seeks Fast Track for Biden’s FDIC Chair Nominee
(Bloomberg) -- A powerful US senator is looking to speed up the lengthy confirmation process to get Christy Goldsmith Romero approved as chair of the troubled Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
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Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown is planning a committee vote on Goldsmith Romero, a Democratic commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as soon as July 25, according to people familiar with the matter. That could conceivably put the nomination on a path for a full Senate vote before the Sept. 2 Labor Day holiday, some of them said.
Brown’s attempt to fast-track the Biden administration’s pick makes sense considering the limited time left in the congressional session and the US elections in November. But Republicans are wary of Goldsmith Romero’s background, and Brown can no longer count on a vote from fellow Democrat Bob Menendez, also on the Banking Committee, after the New Jersey senator was convicted Tuesday on corruption charges.
A spokesperson for the Senate Banking Committee declined to comment. A spokesperson for Brown’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Goldsmith Romero would replace Martin Gruenberg, who announced in May he would step down after the Senate approved his successor. Gruenberg was pressured to step aside after an investigation by the Wall Street Journal and subsequent report by a law firm detailed allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and a toxic workplace at the bank regulator that stretched over decades.
During her July 11 confirmation hearing testimony, Goldsmith Romero said she would “prioritize a complete overhaul of the FDIC’s workplace culture,” including conducting investigations into the allegations of the report and removing problematic staff.
One thing in Goldsmith Romero’s favor is that she has twice received unanimous confirmation by the Senate — once for the top job at the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and then for CFTC commissioner. Skeptical Republicans might also be swayed by her testimony at a congressional hearing last week, when she said she was open to considering a reproposal of US bank regulators’ landmark capital overhaul.
“I’m not looking to get something done fast,” she told members of the Banking Committee. “I’m looking to get something done right.”
The Senate confirmation process often stretches for months. Goldsmith Romero’s confirmation will need simple majorities at the committee and full Senate levels. Any one senator, however, can put a hold on the nomination, tying it up indefinitely.
(Updates with testimony in sixth paragraph. An earlier story corrected a reference to Goldsmith Romero’s unanimous confirmations.)
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