Fed nominees move a step closer to confirmation By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard testifies before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on her nomination to be vice-chair of the Federal Reserve, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 13, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

(Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s nominees to the Federal Reserve moved a step closer to confirmation after Lael Brainard, Biden’s pick to be the U.S. central bank’s vice chair, won enough votes to clear a procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate Monday evening.

The 54-40 cloture vote on Brainard, currently a Fed governor, starts a 30-hour waiting period before a final Senate confirmation vote. A cloture vote on a second Fed nominee, Michigan State University’s Lisa Cook, could come as early as Tuesday. A Senate confirmation for all four Fed nominees, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, could take place this week.