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In a 91-7 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed economist Philip Jefferson to the Federal Reserve Board, Reuters reports.
On Wednesday (May 11), Jefferson became the fourth Black man to serve as a governor at the U.S. Central Bank. Following Lisa Cook's confirmation, two Black governors will simultaneously sit on the Fed Board for the first time in history.
The few votes against the newly appointed Fed governor came solely from Republican Senators. Jefferson's term on the seven-member panel will run until 2036.
Jefferson graduated from Vassar College in New York and became a Fed research assistant shortly after. The former research assistant has taught economics for decades at Columbia University, Swarthmore College, and Davidson College.
He has also extensively researched and written about monetary policy, income, and poverty.
Jefferson and Cook were first nominated to the board by President Joe Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris made the tie-breaking vote that appointed Cook as the first Black female Federal Reserve governor.
While pushing for their historic confirmations, various Democrats said Cook and Jefferson would bring a much-needed racial equality perspective to the Federal Reserve Board, a governmental body that oversees banking and interest rates.
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