NEW YORK – Lisa Cook, one of President Joe Biden’s nominees to serve on the Federal Reserve board, defended her academic record and professional experience during a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, saying she has been the target of baseless attacks.
“I certainly am proud of my academic background,” said Cook, who has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. “I know I have been the target of anonymous and untrue attacks on my academic record.”
Cook worked as a senior economist for the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2011 to 2012. Now an economics professor at Michigan State University, she has taught at Harvard University and was a research fellow at Stanford University.
“I specialize in managing financial crises,” Cook said during the hearing, mentioning that she helped to manage the Eurozone economic crisis when she was at the CEA. “I have publications that are related to banking reform and recognizing systemic risk.”
If confirmed by the closely divided Senate, Cook would be the first Black woman to serve on the Fed board of governors.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown said Biden’s latest Fed nominees, including Cook, Philip Jefferson of Davidson College in North Carolina, and Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former Fed governor, are more than qualified to serve with the central bank. He said earlier Thursday that he expects they will all be confirmed.
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(Reporting by Jonnelle Marte; Editing by Andrea Ricci)