Manchin says he won’t support Raskin confirmation to Fed

Sen. Joe Manchin III, a Democrat from West Virginia, said Monday that he wouldn’t vote to confirm Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Joe Biden’s nominee to become vice chairman of supervision at the Federal Reserve.

Manchin’s break with the president is a significant blow to Raskin’s confirmation chances in a Senate split evenly at 50-50. She already faces opposition from Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee, who declined to show up for a confirmation vote, thus denying the panel a quorum at the Feb. 15 meeting.

Manchin said his concerns about Raskin’s statements that the Fed should exclude struggling energy companies from government relief precluded him from voting to confirm her. He also cited the energy price hikes resulting in part from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.