Shelton Likely To Be Confirmed To Fed Board Tues Or Weds

Bloomberg cites an aide saying that a Senate confirmation vote "could happen Tuesday or Wednesday" on Judy Shelton to join the board of governors of the Federal Reserve for a term running to 2024.

• Reports that Alaska Republican Senator Murkowski would cast her vote in favor of Shelton likely means that there is likely sufficient support for the nomination to pass.
• It remains unclear when Christopher Waller's nomination will see a vote, though his nomination is seen as relatively uncontroversial and can wait until later this month or December.
• The likely reason for Republican leadership pushing Shelton's vote now and not Waller's is that the Democrats' Mark Kelly will be sworn in following his defeat of Martha McSally in this month's Arizona special senate election. This would have made the Shelton approval margin too close for comfort.
• In any event, while Shelton is seen as a controversial appointment due to "unorthodox" economic leanings, the political debate over her nomination is less fraught following the presidential election, as she was seen by some as a possible eventual replacement for Chair Powell by President Trump.