350.org on Senate Confirming Lisa Cook to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors

By Jessel Thomas First Posted: May 11, 2022 09:43 PM EDT

The U.S. Senate on May 10 has voted to confirm Dr. Lisa Cook's historic nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Following Republican's past refusals and delay to move forward on Lisa Cook's nomination, the Senate vote was welcome progress towards confirming her and three other Biden nominees to the central bank. The full Senate Vote was 51-50.

(Photo: 350.org)

Brett Fleishman, Head of Finance Campaigning at 350.org, stated:

"This historic appointment brings us one step closer to a fully functioning Federal Reserve. After seeing weeks of racially charged attacks against the highly qualified Dr. Lisa Cook, we are pleased to see the Senate move forward on this confirmation. We are excited to finally see the appointment of the first Black woman onto the Fed Board of Governors."

"The confirmation of Lisa Cook is another step towards the creation of the most-qualified and diverse Federal Reserve Board of Governors in the history of our nation. We urge the Senate to move forward soon on all remaining nominees. When the climate crisis is being fueled by financial flows to fossil fuels -- we need a fully functional Federal Reserve that can catch up to the European counterparts and begin the work of addressing the most pressing crisis of our time."

Dr. Lisa Cook is an exceptionally qualified economist, bringing a variety of research and international monetary policy experience, as well as experience in banking and financial crises. She is one the country's top researchers on innovation economics and international economic growth. Dr. Cook currently acts as a dual-tenured professor of International Relations and Economics at Michigan State University, and has previously taught at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She served on the Council of Economic Advisers during the Eurozone crisis, and also at the Department of Treasury.