Last week’s contentious nomination hearing for Cornell Law Professor Saule Omarova left administration friends and foes alike wondering, “What is going on at the White House with financial nominations?” It’s unclear whether Omarova, whom President Joe Biden has tapped to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has enough support from Democrats to make it out of the Senate Banking Committee. This was not a surprise to administration officials, who had acknowledged privately for weeks that at least seven Democratic senators had concerns about her policy positions, which include an increasingly dominant role for the government in the financial industry. Republicans are vehemently opposed to Omarova’s nomination, with some pointing to her background growing up in the then-Soviet state of Kazakhstan and her education at Moscow State University to insinuate she has communist leanings. The battle became so ugly in recent weeks that the White House took the rare step of coordinating interviews for Omarova to defend herself. “If you were going to pick this fight, you needed to be better organized and come out swinging,” said Jesse Van Tol, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which supports Omarova’s nomination. “And they didn’t.” A White House official said the administration strongly supports the historic nomination, pointing to Omarova’s track record on regulation and strong academic credentials. “Last week’s hearing showed what we already knew: Saule Omarova is eminently qualified for this position, and GOP attacks on her fall flat in the face of the facts,” the official said. People who follow the process closely say it’s the latest misstep in the administration’s clumsy effort to fill the government’s most important financial policy jobs. The White House initially planned to nominate Obama Treasury official Michael Barr as comptroller but abandoned that plan in the face of criticism from progressives. The president instead appointed an acting comptroller, Michael Hsu, a former Federal Reserve bank supervisor who appears set to remain in the job for the time being. In February, Biden nominated Rohit Chopra to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But Chopra sat in limbo in the Senate for more than six months waiting for the White House to line up his replacement at the Federal Trade Commission, ensuring his departure would not result in a 2-2 split among the panel’s Democrats and Republicans. Seats on the FDIC and Fed boards have remained vacant since the start of the administration. And at the Treasury, there is still no nominee to be under secretary for international affairs, a role seen as the government’s top financial diplomat. To be sure, the White House has had some success: The Senate confirmed Gary Gensler as SEC chair in April and Lina Khan as FTC chair in June. Chopra assumed office in October. But the snafus and delays have baffled industry sources, lobbyists and advocacy groups. The president is expected to name his pick to lead the Federal Reserve this week, though as recently as Friday, he was still mulling whether to reappoint Chair Jerome Powell or replace him with Governor Lael Brainard. (The White House said Biden will deliver remarks Tuesday on the economy and rising inflation, before leaving for Nantucket for Thanksgiving.) From our colleague Jonathan Lemire: “The process has resembled a tortured morass of indecision. Forever the senator, Biden has engaged in an extended debate, soliciting opinions and facts far and wide as he looks to fill a vital post at a time of deep economic uncertainty and political peril.” Biden will also need to name a new vice chair for supervision and regulation and, in short order, a vice chair overseeing monetary policy. If Powell or Brainard decide to leave, depending on the decision, that could give Biden another vacancy to fill. It’s not clear how close the president is to lining up the other picks or when they may be announced. “Administrations get to put their stamp on these agencies with who they select to lead them,” said Aaron Klein, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “The failure to put someone in place means that you’re not going to accomplish your agenda.” IT’S MONDAY — It’s a short week for the Thanksgiving holiday, but we’ll be with you through Wednesday. Please send us those tips, suggestions and other feedback at kdavidson@politico.com , aweaver@politico.com, or on Twitter @katedavidson. | 
