Led by House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), 22 House Democrats today urged the Federal Reserve to ensure it recruits a diverse candidate pool for the presidency of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, which Jeffrey Lacker will vacate in October.
“We believe more proactive steps are needed to ensure every attempt is made to identify a diverse pool of highly qualified candidates,” the lawmakers wrote. They specifically asked the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Richmond Fed’s board for steps the search committee is taking to identify a diverse candidate pool, how they are consulting on diversity within the Fed system, whether the search qualifications might bar minority candidates and whether candidates will be allowed to disclose demographic information, among other topics.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have in recent months raised concerns about diversity among Fed leaders.
