McConnell won't say if Senate would back Herman Cain for Fed

WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to say Thursday whether he thinks his chamber would confirm Herman Cain to join the Federal Reserve board, casting doubt on the former Republican presidential candidate's prospects should President Donald Trump advance him for the post.

Asked if a Cain nomination would face problems, McConnell, R-Ky., noted that successful nominees must pass background checks and have a likelihood of confirmation.

``And, as you know, some of my members have expressed concern about that nomination,'' McConnell told reporters. ``But as far as I know, it hasn't been made yet.''

Trump's interest in potentially nominating Cain along with another political ally, conservative commentator Stephen Moore, has sparked questions among lawmakers from both parties in Congress about the president's influence on the central bank.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated the importance of the Fed's independence during a talk Thursday evening with House Democrats meeting in Virginia for their annual issues retreat, according to a source in the room unauthorized to discuss the private session.

Powell told lawmakers that he saw his role as totally apolitical. He also said the Fed does not consider political pressure in its decision making, the source said. Another source in the room confirmed the remarks.

The chairman fielded questions from lawmakers during a question-and-answer session in Lansdowne, but declined to comment on the president's potential picks.

Powell was Trump's choice to lead the Fed, but the president has been critical of him for raising interest rates.

Earlier Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said elevating Cain and Moore to the Fed would risk politicizing the nation's central bank and endangering the economy.

``These two appointments to the Fed are the worst, ill-suited appointment that the president could come up with,'' she told reporters.

Three GOP senators Utah's Mitt Romney, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and North Dakota's Kevin Cramer told The Associated Press they'd likely vote against Cain. With Republicans controlling the Senate 53-47, it would take opposition from just four GOP senators to sink the nomination, assuming all Democrats are also ``no'' votes.

As he did earlier this week, McConnell also sidestepped a question about whether he would back Cain or Moore, a Fed critic and former Trump campaign aide, for the board. Trump has said he will nominate both men.

``We'll see who's actually nominated,'' said McConnell.

Cain has run into concerns by lawmakers from both parties that, as a Trump loyalist and deeply conservative political figure, he would threaten the Fed's traditional political independence. Trump himself has taken a nontraditional approach to the Fed, repeatedly accusing it of mismanaging the economy by not pushing hard enough for low interest rates.

The White House offered no fresh comment Thursday about Trump's intentions, referring reporters to his earlier comments about Cain.

Trump initially called Cain ``a very terrific man'' who would ``do very well there.'' But he said earlier this week that he didn't know how Cain was faring in the vetting process and that Cain ``will make that determination'' whether to continue.

Cain, former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. He dropped out of the race after allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity, which he denied. Last year, in September, he helped found a pro-Trump super political action committee, America Fighting Back PAC, whose website says, ``We must protect Donald Trump and his agenda from impeachment.''

Cain formerly served on the board of the Fed's Kansas City regional bank. He has also called for a return to the gold standard to control inflation, which most economists consider unworkable.

Moore is a conservative commentator and another Trump political ally.