February 15, 2022

Toomey Statement on Banking Republicans Seeking Answers on Raskin’s Revolving Door Use Before Committee Vote

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) released the following statement regarding Banking Committee Republicans’ decision not to provide a quorum at today’s markup. Committee Republicans have been probing Sarah Bloom Raskin’s lobbying on behalf of Reserve Trust, a nonbank fintech, and the Federal Reserve’s decision to reverse itself and award Reserve Trust with valuable access to the Fed’s payment system.


“Last week, I told Chairman Brown that Republican Committee members would agree to proceed with a markup on all outstanding nominations except that of Sarah Bloom Raskin. Today, Chairman Brown may choose not to allow votes on the five nominees pending before the committee and for whom he could have advanced the process.


“Ms. Raskin’s repeated and forceful advocacy for having the Federal Reserve allocate capital and choke off credit to disfavored industries is alone disqualifying and reason enough to vote against her. But whether to proceed with a vote today is a separate question.


“Important questions about Ms. Raskin’s use of the ‘revolving door’ remain unanswered largely because of her repeated disingenuousness with the Committee, from her sloppy questionnaire, to an evasive conversation with Committee staff, to her refusal to answer questions from Senator Lummis at her nomination hearing, and her non-answers in written follow-up questions to the hearing. On 36 questions for the record, for example, Ms. Raskin claimed she either did ‘not recall’ or was ‘unaware’. Her repeated forgetfulness defies credulity.


“All senators—not just Banking Republicans—deserve straightforward and honest answers from Ms. Raskin before having to cast a vote on her nomination. Her fitness to serve, her judgment, and her probity are of utmost importance because Ms. Raskin is being considered for a 10-year term at the nation’s independent central bank and foremost financial regulator. This isn’t a garden-variety political appointment.


“Committee Republicans aren’t seeking to delay her vote. We’re seeking answers. Until basic questions have been adequately addressed, I do not think the Committee should proceed with a vote on Ms. Raskin.”

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