On Wednesday, March 10, the Senate voted 66-34 to confirm President Biden’s nomination of Representative Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH) as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Before running for Congress in 2008, Fudge served as mayor of Warrensville Heights for eight years. Fudge is expected to put affordable housing issues at the top of her agenda for the department. The Senate Banking Committee also approved the nominations of Gary Gensler to Chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on a 14-10 vote, and Rohit Chopra to lead the Consumer Financial Protraction Bureau (CFPB) on a 12-12 vote. Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) opened the session by praising both Gensler and Chopra, while Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-PA) said he would not be voting for either nominee as they had not alleviated his concerns about the CFPB overreaching its authority and the SEC pushing a social agenda. These nominations have been sent to the full Senate for a confirmation vote, date TBD.

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