An unusual political campaign is underway for who will be nominated as the next Fed chair—Larry Summers, Janet Yellen, or someone else altogether?
Assistant Democratic House Leader Jim Clyburn joined The Daily Rundown Thursday and offered his support for Yellen, who would be the first female to ever hold the position.
“I’m always looking to make history up here. And there’s one appointment that would be history making. That is, to break the glass ceiling for women in another category,” Clyburn said.
During a visit to Capitol Hill Wednesday, President Obama defended Summers from critiques from members of Congress. But Clyburn did not interpret that as a clue to Obama’s nomination decision.
“I don’t know that it’s anything other than the President defending a longtime friend,” Clyburn said. “I think all the president was doing was saying he’s a friend of mine and I do not wish to see him being made a whipping boy.”
As the highest ranking African-American in Congress, voting rights has been another top priority for Clyburn after the Supreme Court nixed a key provision earlier this summer.
Though many are skeptical that Congress can get anything passed, Clyburn is optimistic that voting rights changes can be achieved in a bipartisan way.
“I feel really good about those possibilities,” Clyburn said as he named many Republican members he plans to work with closely on this issue. “I would love to see us do this before we go home this fall,” he added. Clyburn also expressed dismay over the Republican conferences’ appropriation process, after the GOP pulled their transportation and housing bill from the floor before it could be brought to a vote on Wednesday. “I’m at a loss as to exactly what is going on over there. Except that I think they may have empowered 40 to 60 people who seem not to want to get anything done,” Clyburn said. “The American people are getting a good tutorial in what it’s like when people don’t want to use the word ‘compromise’ and reach for common ground.”
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