President Biden’s candidate, Saule Omarova, withdrew her candidacy from the confirmation process, leaving the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency with only an acting Comptroller.
According to a statement released Tuesday, Biden accepted Saule Omarova‘s request to resign from her position as Comptroller of the Currency. Her candidacy sparked fierce pushback from Republican lawmakers and bank lobbyists, exposing Democratic differences.
The Biden administration must now restart the process of naming a regulator for national banks in the United States, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. During earlier vetting, at least two previous possible applicants were dropped.
“I deeply value President Biden’s trust in my abilities and remain firmly committed to the administration’s vision of a prosperous, inclusive, and just future for our country,” Omarova wrote in a letter requesting her withdrawal.
While Biden’s selection of an outspoken Wall Street and Bitcoin critic pleased progressive groups and legislators like Senator Elizabeth Warren, it appeared to be too divisive to earn the support of moderate Democrats, which the candidate would need in the Senate’s evenly divided chamber.
Republican lawmakers and industry detractors
Her origins in Soviet Union-era Kazakhstan, her schooling in Moscow, and her academic papers arguing for a comprehensive revamp of the banking system have been highlighted by Republican lawmakers and industry critics. During her confirmation hearing, John Kennedy, a Republican senator from Louisiana, questioned Omarova if she wanted to be called “comrade.”
Her supporters claimed that the personal attacks on Omarova were unjustified and that she was a well-qualified candidate. Omarova would have been the first non-White woman to hold the position.
Biden praised the Cornell Law School professor as a “strong advocate for consumers and a fierce defender of the safety and soundness of our financial system” in a statement.
Moderate Democrats including Montana’s Jon Tester and Virginia’s Mark Warner expressed reservations about Omarova’s views on banking regulation during her nomination hearing.
For her part, Omarova has described herself as a “free-market idealist” who sees communism as “seriously flawed.” She was taken aback by the “depravity” of the attacks against her nomination, she said. She’s also lauded the United States’ banking system as the best in the world, claiming that her academic publications were “thought exercises” rather than blueprints.
