Biden withdraws Judy Shelton's nomination as Fed board member

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday withdrew from consideration Donald Trump's contentious nomination of Judy Shelton to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Reserve.

Trump had hoped to secure Shelton's confirmation before leaving office, but her nomination stalled after the Republican-controlled Senate failed to muster the required votes to move her nomination ahead in the confirmation process.

Trump had re-nominated Shelton and over 30 other individuals for key judgeships and other posts in early January.

Shelton's nomination ran into trouble in November after a couple of Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the former Trump economic adviser out of concern that her perceived partisanship could imperil the Fed's independence.

In addition, two other Republicans had to skip the vote because they were quarantining due to the coronavirus.

Shelton had come under fire for inconsistent, controversial views, including an embrace of the gold standard and a shifting stance on interest rates as control of the White House passed from Democrat Barack Obama to Trump.

Shelton's name was one of 32 nominations for various posts and judgeships withdrawn by the White House late on Thursday, including that of Joseph Barloon, former general counsel of the U.S. Trade Representative's office, to be a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sam Holmes)