Judy Lynn Shelton (born 1954/55) is an American economic advisor to former
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
.
She is known for her advocacy for a return to the
gold standard
A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the la ...
and for her criticisms of the
Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
(which she has compared to the
Soviet Union's economic planning).
Trump announced on July 2, 2019, that he would nominate Shelton to the Fed. Her nomination stalled on November 17, 2020, with a 47–50 vote in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, and her nomination was eventually withdrawn by
President Joe Biden in February 2021.
During the
Obama presidency, she advocated for a tight monetary policy, but reversed her position during
Trump's presidency, when Trump advocated for a
loose monetary policy (lower interest rates).
Her nomination was held up in the Senate, as senators of both parties were skeptical of her.
However, shortly after
Joe Biden won the presidential election,
Senate Republicans appeared to move ahead to confirm her.
More than 100 economists, including seven
Nobel laureates
The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ou ...
, signed a letter opposing her confirmation, saying her views were "extreme and ill-considered." She ultimately could not retain enough Republican support after senators
Rick Scott
Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019.
Scott ...
(R-Fla.) and
Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States sen ...
(R-Iowa) were absent due to exposure of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and two present Republicans voted against and one absent one did not support her.
Early life and education
Shelton was born in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and raised in suburban
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
. She is one of five children; her father was a businessman and her mother stayed at home to care for Shelton and her siblings. Shelton attended
Portland State University
Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...
, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in business.
[ February 16, 1989. Retrieved on 3 July 2019.] Shelton earned her MBA and PhD in business administration from the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
.
Politics
She worked at the
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...
from 1985 to 1995.
She worked on
Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign.
In 2016, she worked for the
Ben Carson presidential campaign, but joined the Trump campaign in August 2016 after writing a supportive opinion editorial about Trump in ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''.
In 2012, Shelton joined TheGoldStandardNow.Org (a project of the
Lehrman Institute) as a senior advisor.
Before joining the Trump administration, she was the director of the Sound Money Project
at the
Atlas Network
Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...
. In a video interview with The Atlas Network, she described currency counterfeiter
Bernard von NotHaus
Bernard von NotHaus is the creator of the Liberty Dollar and co-founder of the Royal Hawaiian Mint Company, in Hawaii. He is also the founder of the Cannabis Spiritual Center, an educational institution that supports the use of marijuana in spir ...
as "the
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...
of monetary policy." She has donated to conservative candidates and causes.
Shelton worked for the
Trump presidential transition team.
After Trump took office, she was appointed as the United States director of the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...
(EBRD); the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination by
voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
in March 2018.
''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that she was absent for 12 of 28 board meetings during her tenure.
She resigned from her EBRD post in July 2019, while her appointment to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve was pending.
[
]
Views on monetary policy
Shelton is a longtime staunch critic of the Federal Reserve. In 2011, she called the Fed "almost a rogue agency" and questioned whether it could be trusted in having oversight of the dollar. "She has called for a 0% inflation target, contradicting the bank's current 2% target. She has written that a "fundamental question" of economics is "why do we need a central bank?" Shelton has criticized the Fed's longstanding policy of independence from the White House, saying in 2019 interview that she saw "no reference to independence" in the Fed's authorizing legislation. Shelton describes herself as "highly skeptical" of the Federal Reserve's "nebulous" dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability.
During the Obama years, she criticized the Federal Reserve's low interest rates. During the Trump presidency, she advocated for the Federal Reserve to adopt lower interest rates as a form of economic stimulus. (Trump frequently criticized the Federal Reserve for not lowering interest rates.) She supported the Republican Party's 2017 tax legislation, and the Trump administration's deregulation agenda. Before Trump became president, she was a longtime advocate for free trade, once advocating for "open borders
An open border is a border that enables free movement of people (and often of goods) between jurisdictions with no restrictions on movement and is lacking substantive border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation ...
" with Mexico; after Trump became president, she supported his administration's trade war.
Shelton opposes federal deposit insurance. In her book ''Money Meltdown'', she writes that "Eliminating federal deposit insurance would restore the essential character of banking as a vehicle for channeling financial capital into productive investment while striving to meet the risk and timing preference of depositors."
Shelton is a long-time proponent of pegging the value of the dollar to gold. In 2019, she said that she hoped for a new Bretton Woods Bretton Woods can refer to:
*Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, a village in the United States
**Bretton Woods Mountain Resort, a ski resort located in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
*The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, also known as the "United Nations Mo ...
-style conference where countries would agree to return to the gold standard, saying, "If it takes place at Mar-a-Lago
Mar-a-Lago ( from the Spanish for ''sea to lake'') is a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by former U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985 and referred to it as his "Winter White House" ...
that would be great." (Mar-a-Lago is a resort run by President Trump.)
In a 2012 piece in the Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
's ''Cato Journal'', Shelton called for the establishment of a "Universal Gold Reserve Bank" with "potential to become a sort of global monetary authority"; she expressed similar views in a 1999 op-ed in the ''Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. In 2000, she advocated for open borders with Mexico, and said that "even better would be a global common market with a single worldwide currency." She has favored virtual currencies that compete against the U.S. dollar
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
.
Nomination to Federal Reserve
On July 3, 2019, President Donald Trump used his Twitter account to announce his intention to nominate Shelton and a regional Fed official, Christopher Waller, to the Federal Reserve board
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the mon ...
. His previous nominees, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Omaha Branch The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Omaha Branch is one of three branches of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
The branch, which is in Omaha, Nebraska, opened on September 4, 1917.
Current Board of Directors
The following people are on t ...
, Herman Cain
Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist within the Republican Party. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's d ...
and economic commentator Stephen Moore, had withdrawn for lack of Senate support. During the months in which Shelton was being considered for the post by Trump, she was a guest at the Trump International Hotel, Washington, D.C.
During her February 2020 confirmation hearings, both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (formerly the Committee on Banking and Currency), also known as the Senate Banking Committee, has jurisdiction over matters related to banks and banking, price controls, d ...
expressed concerns about her writings and statements. On July 21, 2020, a 13–12 vote along party lines advanced Shelton's nomination to the full Senate. On September 15, 2020, Senator John Thune
John Randolph Thune ( ; born January 7, 1961) is an American politician and businessman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005, and as the Party leaders ...
, Republican Whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
, announced that Shelton would not be brought up for a vote until she had the 51 votes required to confirm her to the Federal Reserve.
In August, 130 economists, including seven Nobel laureates
The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ou ...
, recommended the Senate reject her nomination, writing that Shelton was unfit for the post due to her "extreme and ill-considered" views, and writing that rejection of her nomination was needed for Fed to maintain its "nonpartisan approach." Seventy-eight former Federal Reserve economists, attorneys and presidents of Federal Reserve Banks
A Federal Reserve Bank is a regional bank of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. There are twelve in total, one for each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts that were created by the Federal Reserve A ...
also signed the letter.
Among key Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after S ...
supported Shelton's nomination, but Susan Collins
Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of Co ...
, Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
, and Lamar Alexander
Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee fro ...
came out in opposition to the nomination, leaving Shelton's ability to be confirmed in doubt.
On November 17, 2020, the motion to invoke cloture
Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...
on the Shelton nomination failed on a 47–50 vote. All Democratic senators (including Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...
, who had to return to Washington for the vote), along with the Republican senators Romney and Collins, voted against her nomination; Lamar Alexander
Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee fro ...
said that he opposed the nomination, but was not present for the vote. Senators Rick Scott
Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019.
Scott ...
and Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States sen ...
—crucial Republican votes needed to confirm Shelton's nomination—were absent due to quarantine measures enforced after being exposed to COVID-19.
On January 3, 2021, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. When Democrats took control of the Senate in January 2021, Shelton's chances of nomination were effectively ended, and on February 4, 2021, President Joe Biden withdrew her nomination to the Fed.
Personal life
Shelton is married to Gilbert Shelton. The Sheltons had eleven French Charolais cattle
The Charolais () or Charolaise () is a French breed of taurine beef cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the Charolais area surrounding Charolles, in the Saône-et-Loire department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern Fran ...
, six dogs and peacocks as of 2009. Her husband is a former entrepreneurial banker in Utah, Colorado, and Hawaii who sold his businesses in the early-1980s. They have lived at Moss Neck Manor
Moss Neck Manor is a historic, antebellum plantation house located at Rappahannock Academy, Caroline County, Virginia, United States.
Construction
James Parke Corbin (1808-1868) inherited the plantation, which did not have a significant house, ...
, a historic antebellum plantation house in Rappahannock Academy, Virginia
Rappahannock Academy is an unincorporated community in Caroline County, Virginia, United States. Rappahannock Academy is located on U.S. Route 17 southeast of Fredericksburg. Rappahannock Academy has a post office with ZIP code 22538. The co ...
, since 2005. The property borders Fort A.P. Hill
Fort A.P. Hill is a training and maneuver center belonging to the United States Army located near the town of Bowling Green, Virginia. The center focuses on arms training and is used by all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is named for Virg ...
.
Bibliography
*
*
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Judy
Living people
Portland State University alumni
University of Utah alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
Hoover Institution people
People from Los Angeles
People from California
Economists from California
People from the San Fernando Valley