Sen. Elizabeth Warren Says Process Of Selecting Regional Fed Presidents 'is Broken'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat from Massachusetts, said Tuesday that the lack of diversity among Federal Reserve leadership shows the process of selecting regional Fed presidents "is broken." There are currently no African-Americans or Latinos among the 12 regional Fed presidents. These dozen officials are selected by separate boards of directors in each district. "The current process" has not allowed the Fed "to address the persistent lack of diversity among the regional Fed presidents," Warren told Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen during her testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. Congress should "take a hard look" at reforming the selection process, Warren added, raising the possibility of a push by progressives to have these officials selected by the president and subject to Senate confirmation as are the seven members of the Fed board in Washington including Yellen.