MNI POLICY: Ex-Fed Officials Urge Senate Reject Shelton

Dozens of former Fed officials published an open letter Thursday urging the Senate to reject President Donald Trump's nominee Judy Shelton to the Fed Board of Governors.

The was letter signed by 38 former Fed officials including former Governor Alan Blinder, Boston Fed leader Cathy Minehan and Minneapolis leader Gary Stern. It attacked Shelton's fitness for a spot on the Fed's board noting decades of her writings and statements ranging from advocating a return to the gold standard and questioning the need for deposit insurance.

"We urge the Senate to reject her nomination," the letter says.

Shelton, an informal adviser to Trump's 2016 campaign, has drawn significant criticism for policy views well outside the mainstream and for being a political loyalist who might bend to Trump's will.

She appeared to abandon her advocacy for ultra-tight monetary policy when she emerged as a Fed candidate, publicly aligning herself with the president's calls for lower interest rates.

Some Republican Senators have advocated Shelton be confirmed citing the need for diversity at the Fed and suggesting her position would have limited impact on the course of monetary policy.

"While we applaud the Board having a diversity of viewpoints represented at its table, Ms. Shelton's views are so extreme and ill-considered as to be an unnecessary distraction from the tasks at hand," the letter says.

Shelton passed the Senate Banking Committee in early July on a party-line 13-12 vote sending her nomination to the full Senate for final confirmation. Senate leaders have yet to schedule a vote, and with Democrats expected to be united in opposition cracks among Republicans could cause the nomination to fail.

Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Susan Collins have announced their opposition while two other Senators, Lisa Murkowski and Lamar Alexander, have said they are undecided.