Citing opposition from Senate Republicans, MIT professor and Nobel Prize winning economist Peter Diamond has asked the White House to withdraw his nomination to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors.
In an article written for The New York Times, Diamond explained the situation, “Last October, I won the Nobel Prize in Economics for my work on unemployment and the labor market. But I am unqualified to serve on the board of the Federal Reserve — at least according to the Republican senators who have blocked my nomination. How can this be?”
Leading the charge against his nomination was Alabama Republican senator Richard Shelby, who claims that Diamond lacks experience making monetary policy.
“Although Dr. Diamond is a skilled and accomplished theoretical economist, it is clear to many of us that he does not possess the appropriate background, experience, or policy preferences to serve on the Board of Governor,” Shelby has said.
Though Diamond’s nomination cleared the Senate Banking Committee three times, full confirmation by the Senate was unlikely because there was not enough Republican support to reach the 60 votes necessary for confirmation.
Diamond’s full article is well worth the read.
Not Intent on Arriving 
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