Herman Cain said Wednesday he is "very committed" to being vetted for a seat on the Federal Reserve board and he does not plan to withdraw his name from consideration, even though he may not have enough support in the Senate to confirm him if he's nominated.
“I don’t quit because of negative criticism,” Cain, a former presidential candidate and restaurant entrepreneur, told The Wall Street Journal. "I don’t quit because of negative attacks. And I don’t quit because several senators have expressed reservations about my qualifications.”
Further, Cain said he believes "new voices" are needed on the Fed.
Four Republican senators have said they will not support Cain because of ongoing concerns about sexual-harassment allegations, which he has denied, and because of concerns about his activism as a conservative.
Cain said President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, called him in January to invite him to the White House to speak with Trump about the Fed. He spoke first with Kudlow and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, before later meeting with Trump and Kudlow in the Oval Office. On April 4, Trump announced he wanted Cain.
Cain was the chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza in the 1980s and 1990s and has sat on the boards of multiple companies. He commented that Trump liked his business background.
He said he believes the Fed should remain independent, but he also would not ignore Trump's views.
“I wouldn’t totally tune it out because they may be saying something that might cause you to ask some different questions, but not do what they are saying politically,” Cain said. “The Fed is not and should not become a political machine.”
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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