According to POLITICO Florida Senator Marco Rubio has gone on the record saying he will not vote to confirm Janet Yellen’s nomination to be the next head of the Federal Reserve. According to Rubio her expansive views on monetary policy risk creating asset bubbles.
Rubio’s decision lines him up with potential tea party-influenced rivals for the 2016 presidential nomination, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
The three Rubio, Cruz and Paul will be in the minority as Ms, Yellen is expected to win bipartisan support and get the approval from the Senate Banking Committee as early as today. She is then expected to be confirmed, again in a bipartisan way by the full Senate and to succeed outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Sen. Paul has threatened to hold up a final vote until the Senate considers his measure to “Audit the Fed,” although Democrats know they have the 60 votes to quickly get over that hurdle.
Yellen is an outspoken advocate of using all the policy tools at the Fed’s disposal to boost growth and reduce the jobless rate.
Some conservatives believe these policies, including $85 billion a month in asset purchases, risk inflation and create bubbles in assets such as stocks and real estate.
But there is no current risk of inflation — indeed most economists see deflation as a bigger threat — and Rubio’s move can be seen more as an effort to win back tea party favor after his unpopular support for sweeping immigration reform, which he had now largely abandoned.
