Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle “Miki” Bowman is the White House’s nominee to serve as the central bank’s next vice chair for supervision, President Donald Trump announced Monday in a Truth Social post.
“Miki has been serving honorably on the Fed’s Board of Governors since 2018, and has great expertise dealing with Inflation, Regulation, and Banking,” Trump wrote Monday. “Our Economy has been mismanaged for the past four years, and it is time for a change. Miki has the ‘know-how’ to get it done. I am confident we will achieve Economic heights never before seen in our Nation’s History.”
In a statement Monday, Bowman said she is “grateful for the continued faith and confidence [Trump] has placed in me to fulfill this vital role.”
The vice chair for supervision role has been vacant since Fed Gov. Michael Barr stepped down from the post Feb. 28. Bowman had been seen as a front-runner to replace Barr since Trump was elected in November. She’s often served as a vocal counterbalance to Barr on issues such as stress tests, bank merger policy and revisions to the Community Reinvestment Act.
Despite Trump’s assertion Monday that Bowman “will be” the Fed’s next supervision czar, she still must go through the typical nomination process: a hearing in front of the Senate Banking Committee, whose members will then vote on whether to advance the nomination to the full Senate, which then must confirm her.
Her nomination is not expected to see an overwhelming challenge, since Republicans have a majority in the Senate.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC, the Senate Banking Committee’s chair, called Bowman “an important voice on the Federal Reserve Board in pushing back on burdensome rules and regulations that stifle economic opportunity,” according to a Monday statement.
“I’ve long called for more accountability at the Federal Reserve, and I’m hopeful that Governor Bowman will help increase transparency around the regulatory and supervisory work of the Board,” Scott said. “There is significant work ahead to rightsize our regulatory framework and remove politics from our federal financial regulators.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, the banking panel’s ranking member, however, said placing Bowman in charge of supervision at the Fed “begs for another cycle of Wall Street deregulation, bank crashes, and bailouts,” according to a statement seen by Bloomberg.
Bank CEOs and trade groups, meanwhile, have expressed enthusiasm for Bowman’s nomination.
“I’d be excited to see Miki Bowman appointed. I think the industry would be excited to see Miki Bowman appointed, and then that can help the banks move forward, to do what the banks should be doing, which is getting capital into the system and help supporting growth in the economy,” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told Fox Business last week.
In a statement Monday, American Bankers Association CEO Rob Nichols called Bowman a “thoughtful, principled voice for sensible regulatory and monetary policy.”
“We urge the Senate to quickly confirm her so she can take on the additional responsibilities that come with this important role,” Nichols said. “Her prior experience as a community banker and state regulator brings a much-needed real-world perspective to a wide range of policy issues facing our industry, including the need to ensure that all market participants have a level playing field.”
Before joining the Fed board in 2018, Bowman served as the state bank commissioner of Kansas and was a vice president at Council Grove, Kansas-based Farmers & Drovers Bank.
This is a developing story.