Saule Omarova has withdrawn her nomination to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a little known agency that has a major …
Saule Omarova has withdrawn her nomination to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a little known agency that has a major role in overseeing banks in the country. Omarova, a Cornell University law professor, had faced strong opposition from Senate Republicans over her academic research, which had proposed some major changes to the banking system. Some of the attacks were unusually personal, including outright suggestions that the Kazakhstan-born nominee held “communist” views. Omarova, who’s a U.S. citizen, has strongly denied that. Yet some moderate Democrats had also expressed reservations about her previous positions, making her path to confirmation challenging in the closely-divided Senate even if she had strong support from progressives. “I deeply value President Biden’s trust in my abilities and remain firmly committed to the Administration’s vision of a prosperous, inclusive, and just future for our country,” Omarova wrote in her letter requesting the White House withdraw her nomination to head the OCC.
