Should Obama Make Recess Appointments to the Fed?
Brad DeLong thinks President Obama should fill the vacancies at the Federal Reserve by making recess appointments. Matt Yglesias is “not so sure about that”:
The Fed is one of the relatively few elements of the government that our national elite establishment takes seriously. When there was a need to reconfirm Ben Bernanke it got done, and quickly. I think that if Obama put some well-qualified names out there and made a point of emphasizing that he thinks quick action is needed, that he could get the job done.
I may be missing something here, but if the President thinks two new votes on the Fed Board might improve the odds that Fed policy would turn in a modestly more inflationary direction and help bring down unemployment, he should fill those seats as soon as his constitutional authority allows. I don’t really understand the argument against recess appointments here. He might ruffle some feathers. But so what? He could apologize and say it had to be done. The Senate is free to reject the appointees at the end of the session. And who really cares anyway?
The Fed chair is important and must be taken seriously in a way that the other seats on the board are not. (Chairs more important than seats. Hmmm….) The fact that multiple extended vacancies doesn’t make much difference in the functioning of the board—even if it makes a big difference in policy—seems to me evidence enough that nominations for these seats can be safely subjected to the usual treatment: maximal perversion of procedure for even the most minimal political gain.
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