Donald Trump is stacking the Federal Reserve Board with a Wall Street crony who will work for big banks at the expense of working Americans. This morning the Senate Banking Committee considered the nomination of Randal Quarles to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; if confirmed, Qarles would serve as the board’s chief overseer of the financial system, a scary reality considering Quarles has long ties to the banking industry and has advocated for deregulation that could result in another 2008-style financial crisis.
“Nominating Quarles just further proves that Trump is hell bent on appeasing Wall Street at everyone else’s expense,” said Shripal Shah, Vice President of American Bridge. “Quarles isn’t a watchdog, he’s a lapdog, and if he has his way, he’ll further rig the financial system for big banks the moment he gets the chance. He’s not fit to serve in a regulatory role and the Senate should reject his nomination.”
Quarles was an advocate for reckless deregulation in the mid-2000s that led to the 2008 financial crisis, but rather than learn his lesson, Quarles then joined private equity and tried to profit off of the fallout while Americans lost their homes. Quarles also believes there’s too much consumer protection, further proving he lacks the necessary credibility to be a trustworthy ‘watchdog’ on Wall Street, made all the crueler by his refusal to sell off all of his assets and eliminate his conflicts of interest.
Despite these serious concerns about his record and qualifications, Senate Republicans are turning a blind eye, likely because Quarles has been a long time Republican Party donor. In 2016 alone he donated $35,000 to the NRSC and also gave $5,400 to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, a fact that further reeks of pay-to-play politics that Trump repeatedly decried during the 2016 campaign when he claimed he was going to “drain the swamp” in Washington.
Randal Quarles: GOP Big Donor
| Committee | Date | Amount |
| NEW JERSEY REPUBLICAN STATE COMMITTEE | 7/29/1997 | $250.00 |
| D’AMATO, ALFONSE M VIA FRIENDS OF SENATOR D’AMATO (1998 COMMITTEE) | 12/24/1997 | $500.00 |
| LAZIO, RICK A VIA LAZIO 2000 INC | 10/13/1998 | $250.00 |
| BUSH, GEORGE W VIA BUSH FOR PRESIDENT INC. | 4/20/1999 | $1,000.00 |
| LAZIO, RICK A VIA LAZIO 2000 INC | 6/28/1999 | $250.00 |
| GIULIANI, RUDOLPH W VIA FRIENDS OF GIULIANI EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE | 12/15/1999 | $250.00 |
| BUSH, GEORGE W VIA BUSH-CHENEY 2000 COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE INC. | 5/30/2000 | $1,000.00 |
| LAZIO, RICK A VIA LAZIO 2000 INC | 6/26/2000 | $250.00 |
| LAZIO, RICK A VIA LAZIO 2000 INC | 6/26/2000 | $750.00 |
| FRANKS, ROBERT D VIA BOB FRANKS FOR US SENATE INC | 9/20/2000 | $1,000.00 |
| LEADERSHIP PAC 2006 | 3/23/2001 | $250.00 |
| MARIN, ROSARIO VIA ROSARIO MARIN FOR US SENATE INC | 2/20/2004 | $1,000.00 |
| COMMONWEALTH PAC, THE | 6/29/2006 | $5,000.00 |
| ROMNEY, MITT / PAUL D. RYAN VIA ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT, INC. | 1/5/2007 | $2,100.00 |
| ROMNEY, MITT / PAUL D. RYAN VIA ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT, INC. | 1/29/2007 | $200.00 |
| GODDARD, RICHARD NEIL VIA GODDARD FOR CONGRESS | 12/31/2007 | $2,300.00 |
| ROMNEY, MITT / PAUL D. RYAN VIA ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT, INC. | 1/9/2008 | $2,300.00 |
| FREE AND STRONG AMERICA PAC, INC. | 6/3/2008 | $5,000.00 |
| MCCAIN VICTORY 2008 | 6/9/2008 | $2,300.00 |
| NRSC | 10/7/2008 | $4,700.00 |
| SUNUNU, JOHN E VIA TEAM SUNUNU | 10/15/2008 | $2,300.00 |
| FREE AND STRONG AMERICA PAC, INC. | 2/23/2009 | $5,000.00 |
| FREE AND STRONG AMERICA PAC, INC. | 3/5/2010 | $3,000.00 |
| BENNETT, ROBERT F VIA BENNETT ELECTION COMMITTEE | 3/27/2010 | $2,400.00 |
| PORTMAN, ROB VIA PORTMAN FOR SENATE COMMITTEE | 10/15/2010 | $2,400.00 |
| MAJORITY COMMITTEE PAC–MC PAC | 10/19/2010 | $5,000.00 |
| NRSC | 10/19/2010 | $2,500.00 |
| FREE AND STRONG AMERICA PAC, INC. | 11/19/2010 | $2,000.00 |
| ROMNEY, MITT / PAUL D. RYAN VIA ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT, INC. | 5/16/2011 | $2,500.00 |
| ROMNEY, MITT / PAUL D. RYAN VIA ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT, INC. | 5/16/2011 | $2,500.00 |
| HATCH, ORRIN G VIA HATCH ELECTION COMMITTEE INC | 6/30/2011 | $2,500.00 |
| HATCH, ORRIN G VIA HATCH ELECTION COMMITTEE INC | 9/29/2011 | $2,500.00 |
| RESTORE OUR FUTURE, INC. | 1/31/2012 | $7,500.00 |
| FREEDOM FUND | 2/29/2012 | $2,500.00 |
| LONG, WENDY VIA WENDY LONG FOR NEW YORK INC | 3/31/2012 | $2,500.00 |
| LONG, WENDY VIA WENDY LONG FOR NEW YORK INC | 3/31/2012 | $10,000.00 |
| ROMNEY VICTORY, INC. | 7/12/2012 | $40,000.00 |
| LONG, WENDY VIA WENDY LONG FOR NEW YORK INC | 8/17/2012 | $2,500.00 |
| LONG, WENDY VIA WENDY LONG FOR NEW YORK INC | 8/17/2012 | $2,500.00 |
| MCCARTHY, KEVIN VIA KEVIN MCCARTHY FOR CONGRESS | 9/21/2012 | $2,500.00 |
| HATCH, ORRIN G VIA HATCH ELECTION COMMITTEE INC | 10/17/2012 | $2,500.00 |
| HATCH, ORRIN G VIA HATCH ELECTION COMMITTEE INC | 10/17/2012 | $7,500.00 |
| RYAN PROSPERITY ACTION, INC. | 6/13/2013 | $1,000.00 |
| GRIFFIN, WILLIAM TAYLOR VIA TAYLOR GRIFFIN FOR CONGRESS | 11/27/2013 | $2,600.00 |
| MOONEY, ALEXANDER XAVIER VIA MOONEY FOR CONGRESS 2016 | 3/31/2014 | $2,000.00 |
| NRSC | 9/23/2014 | $32,400.00 |
| RUBIO, MARCO VIA MARCO RUBIO FOR PRESIDENT | 10/27/2015 | $2,700.00 |
| KIRK, MARK STEVEN VIA KIRK FOR SENATE | 3/2/2016 | $500.00 |
| LEE, MIKE VIA FRIENDS OF MIKE LEE INC | 3/8/2016 | $2,700.00 |
| CRUZ, RAFAEL EDWARD “TED” VIA CRUZ FOR PRESIDENT | 3/21/2016 | $2,700.00 |
| STEWART, CHRIS VIA FRIENDS FOR CHRIS STEWART, INC. | 3/31/2016 | $250.00 |
| PORTMAN, ROB VIA PORTMAN FOR SENATE COMMITTEE | 4/6/2016 | $2,700.00 |
| LONG, WENDY VIA WENDY LONG 2016 INC | 6/26/2016 | $2,700.00 |
| LONG, WENDY VIA WENDY LONG 2016 INC | 6/26/2016 | $2,700.00 |
| CRAPO, MICHAEL VIA MIKE CRAPO FOR US SENATE | 6/30/2016 | $2,700.00 |
| CRAPO, MICHAEL VIA MIKE CRAPO FOR US SENATE | 6/30/2016 | $2,700.00 |
| NRSC | 11/3/2016 | $1,600.00 |
| NRSC | 11/3/2016 | $33,400.00 |
| Total: | $205,800.00 |