Michelle Bowman, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Federal Reserve vice chair for supervision, told lawmakers April 10 that she will aim to promote transparency and accountability in the banking system, and added that it’s too early to know whether the president’s trade policies will hurt the economy.
Bowman, who has served as a governor on the Fed board since 2018, would replace Michael Barr as vice chair for supervision, the role responsible for developing policy recommendations for the Fed board regarding supervision and regulation of depository institutions, holding companies and other financial firms supervised by Fed. Barr stepped down Feb. 28 as vice chair for supervision but remains on the Fed board.
“If confirmed, I will prioritize reforming and refocusing supervision, restoring regulatory tailoring, ensuring a viable path for innovation in the banking system, and promoting transparency and accountability,” Bowman said in her opening remarks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.
Tailoring regulations will be a key priority, Bowman said. “The U.S. regulatory framework has grown expansively to become overly complicated and redundant, with conflicting and overlapping requirements,” she said. “This growth has imposed unnecessary and significant costs on banks and their customers.”
Republicans on the committee heralded her experience, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the committee, said Bowman’s penchant for deregulation favors Wall Street over Main Street and helped lead to the collapse of several regional banks in 2023, including Silicon Valley Bank.
“President Trump is fanning the flames of disaster with his mismanagement of the nation’s economy,” Warren said, referencing the administration’s tariff policy. “Instead of showing up with the fire department, Governor Bowman brings a can of gasoline.”
When asked how the president’s tariffs could impact the economy, Bowman said the economy is currently strong and that it’s too early to answer the question. “I think it’s unclear at this point since we don’t know how the economic policies will be calibrated and what their effects on the industries will be,” she said.
Bowman testified alongside other Trump nominees for positions in the Housing and Urban Development, Treasury and Commerce departments.
The committee has yet to schedule a vote on Bowman’s nomination. If her nomination passes out of the Republican-controlled committee, it will head to the full Senate for consideration.
