You're reading: Obama to re-nominate Nobel Prize winner to Fed

President Barack Obama will resubmit the failed nomination of a Nobel Prize-winning economist to the Federal Reserve, even though he faces even stronger opposition from the next Congress.

The nomination of Peter Diamond fizzled when the Senate adjourned Wednesday without acting on it. But the White House said Thursday that the president will press ahead on the nomination.

Diamond, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is an authority on Social Security, pensions and taxation. He shared the Nobel Prize in economics that was awarded in October. But Senate Republicans have opposed his nomination, questioning his practical experience and research.

Republicans will hold six additional seats in the next Senate, making Diamond’s confirmation even more difficult.

The Fed often operates with vacancies on its board. The board has seven seats but hasn’t had every seat filled since 2006.

Chairman Ben Bernanke and the board’s other members belong to the Fed’s main policymaking group, the Federal Open Market Committee. The committee sets interest rates and makes other policies that influence economic growth, employment and inflation.

The Senate Banking Committee had approved Diamond’s nomination in November and sent it to the Senate for consideration. It was the panel’s second attempt to overcome Republican opposition.

Obama struggled to get Bernanke himself confirmed to a second term in the last Congress. Bernanke, a Republican, faced a backlash over the Fed’s role in bailing out Wall Street firms during the financial crisis. That angered ordinary Americans and stirred a wave of Senate opposition.

Bernanke was ultimately confirmed by a 70-30 vote. It was the slimmest margin ever for a Fed chairman.