December 13, 2022

Brown Advances FDIC and HUD Nominees

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held an executive session to vote on the nominations of: The Honorable Martin Gruenberg to be a Member and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); Mr. Travis Hill to be a Member and Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the FDIC,  Mr. Jonathan McKernan to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the FDIC, and Dr. Kimberly Ann McClain to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The Honorable Martin Gruenberg was advanced by a vote of 13-11. Mr. Travis Hill, Mr. Jonathan McKernan, and Dr. Kimberly Ann McClain were advanced by voice vote. 

Sen. Brown’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:

Good afternoon, everyone.

The Committee meets in Executive Session today to consider the nominations of four Presidential nominees: 

The Honorable Martin Gruenberg to be a Member and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC.

Mr. Travis Hill to be a Member and Vice Chairperson of the FDIC.

Mr. Jonathan McKernan to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the FDIC.

And, Dr. Kimberly McClain to be Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.

I will keep my remarks very brief today. Before I start, I want to highlight the Committee’s activity this Congress. By the end of this week, we will have held 89 full committee hearings, 22 subcommittee hearings, 14 executive sessions, and four listening sessions.

To date, 42 of our Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs nominees have been confirmed by the Senate. 

This would not have been possible without the members of this Committee. Thank you all for your cooperation, and especially the subcommittee chairs and Ranking Member Toomey and all the subcommittee ranking members.

Following the Great Wall Street Crash of 1929 and a severe banking panic, Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to restore confidence in our banking system.

The FDIC has upheld its mandate, protecting every day American’s deposits and helping to maintain stability in our financial system.

The management of the agency is vested in the Board of Directors. Today, we will vote on the nominations of three of the five members of the Board.

I’m pleased to support the nomination of Martin Gruenberg to be Chairperson of the Board of Directors of FDIC. I can think of no person more prepared or qualified for this role than Mr. Gruenberg. He is an experienced and respected regulator who has devoted his entire career to making sure our financial system works for everyone.

The Senate has confirmed Mr. Gruenberg unanimously five times. Despite the unfair and— frankly—factually dubious attacks, Mr. Gruenberg endured at his nomination hearing, I see no reason why he shouldn’t be unanimously confirmed once again.

Mr. Hill and Mr. McKernan have also been nominated to serve on the Board of Directors of FDIC. While I still have some concerns about their nominations and expect them to work with me on those concerns when confirmed, but I am prepared to support them here today.

Finally, the Committee will vote on the nomination of Dr. Kimberly McClain to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Dr. McClain is well-qualified to take on this role. I have no doubt her military service and extensive congressional relations experience at the Air Force and now the Department of Veterans Affairs have prepared her for serving as head of Congressional Relations at HUD.

I urge my colleagues to support all four nominations today.

Ranking Member Toomey.

###