Trump's Fed pick in danger of being rejected by Senate

In November when President Donald Trump nominated Carnegie Mellon University Professor Marvin Goodfriend to become a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, it was seen as a slam dunk.

After all, Goodfriend is a well-known monetary economist. He delivered a paper at the Fed’s exclusive summer policy retreat in Jackson Hole last summer, rarefied air for a scholar.

But, as MarketWatch reports, the smooth road to the U.S. central bank has turned treacherous for Goodfriend

“Goodfriend’s nomination could be doomed,” said Ian Katz, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners.

What happened? Democrats have unified in opposition to Goodfriend, fearing he will push the post-Janet Yellen Fed to chase inflation ghosts rather than helping create conditions to foster jobs for unemployed workers.

“Why were you wrong so many times,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, asked Goodfriend at his confirmation hearing, referring to his 2011 and 2012 warnings that inflation might be stirring.

Over Democrat objections, the Senate Banking Committee approved Goodfriend’s nomination on Wednesday and sent it to the floor for a final vote. But there, the math turns against him.

With Democrats united, Goodfriend needs Republicans to close ranks behind him. But some Republicans have no love for the Fed.

On such Republican, Sen. Rand Paul from Kentucky, told reporters Thursday he would vote against Goodfriend.

Republicans have 51-49 majority in the Senate. With Sen. John McCain of Arizona absent due to treatment for brain cancer, Goodfriend cannot afford to lose any more Republicans.