Ex-Treasury Official Michael Barr is Frontrunner to Police Banks at Fed

Former Treasury official Michael Barr is President Joe Biden’s leading contender to serve as the vice chairman of banking supervision for the Federal Reserve, according to multiple media reports on Wednesday (April 13) citing unnamed sources with insider information.

The role of policing the nation’s banks is a central position that provides oversight to major financial institutions including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc.

Barr, currently the dean of the University of Michigan’s public policy school, is the second contender for the role. Sarah Bloom Raskin, Biden’s first nominee, withdrew from consideration after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a key Democratic vote in an evenly split chamber, said he couldn’t support Raskin’s nomination because of her views on addressing climate change.

Read more: Saule Omarova, Biden’s Nominee to Regulate Big Banks, Withdraws Bid to Head OCC

The 50-50 Senate has made it difficult for the Biden administration to advance its picks for central financial regulatory posts. Barr was previously nominated to serve as comptroller of the currency but was opposed by progressive activists who took issue with his connection to FinTech startups like Lending Club and Ripple. Cornell Law professor Saule Omarova was then nominated for the position, but she too was rejected by the Senate because she had advocated for the government to take a dominant role in finance.

See also: Sarah Bloom Raskin Withdraws as Biden’s Pick for Top Fed Banking Regulator

Barr declined to comment but told POLITICO last month that it’s not a “given that Republicans should be expected to vote against the president’s nominees.” 

Regarding the position, he said that it’s not a role that should be partisan. POLITICO first reported that Barr was the top contender for the bank supervisor role at the Fed.

Barr was assistant treasury secretary for financial institutions during the Obama administration and had a hand in crafting the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act following the 2008-2009 financial crisis. He also worked at Treasury under President Bill Clinton.