U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, today released the following statement announcing he will vote against Jerome Powell’s confirmation to serve a second term as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors:

“This year, the Boston and Dallas Federal Reserve Banks and the Federal Reserve Board had opportunities to make history with the selections of their next regional bank presidents. They could have sent a message to the 62 million Hispanic-Americans in the United States that they too deserve a seat at the table where our nation’s most important economic decisions are made. Unfortunately, the Federal Reserve opted to continue the shameful 108-year legacy of Latinos being left out of the Federal Reserve’s leadership.

“Make no mistake, this issue goes beyond identity politics — fully 40% of the population under the Dallas Fed’s jurisdiction is Latino and its decisions affect the quality of life for every single resident it represents. I have consistently advocated for Latinos to be given the representation they deserve by being appointed to the highest echelons of the Federal Reserve Bank leadership.

“I have repeatedly sounded the alarm on the Fed’s serious diversity problem. Just last January, I expressed directly to Chair Powell how outrageous it is that the voices of one fifth of the citizens of America are repeatedly drowned out when the Fed is making critical decisions on economic policy. Yet under Powell’s leadership, the Fed continues to miss critical opportunities to appoint Latinos at the highest levels of its leadership. As a result, it may be decades before a member of the Latino community has the opportunity to serve.

“For this reason, I cannot in good conscience support Jerome Powell to lead the Federal Reserve for another term and will be voting ‘NO’ on his confirmation.”