Senate Confirms Bowman's 14-Year Mandate on Fed Board

Bloomberg

The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Fed Governor Michelle Bowman for a 14-year term on the central bank board.

Bowman, 48, is a former state bank commissioner for Kansas. He sits on the board of the central bank and is reserved for an expert in local banks. Bowman was also a former assistant to Senator Bob Dole and a senior manager of his family's bank in Kansas. Bowman has received support from Republicans and Democrats. The vote was 60 to 31.

The Senate confirmed Bowman as governor of the Fed last November for a term that was to expire in January 2020. Under Fed rules, a governor who has been confirmed for a partial term may be appointed for a full term.

Bowman has been voting with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on interest rate decisions since joining the central bank.

Bowman is one of four Fed governors appointed by President Donald Trump. Fed governor Lael Brinard is the only remnant of the Obama administration. There are two vacant seats on the seven-member board.

Trump stepped up its public campaign with Powell and his Fed colleagues to cut interest rates to lower the value of the dollar on foreign exchange markets. The President thinks strongly

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dollar gives US trading partners an unfair trade advantage.

On Wednesday, Trump suggested the Fed go further and push rates into negative territory.

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Inventories were up Thursday, optimistic about upcoming US-US trade negotiations. The S & P 500 index