Lisa Cook wins Senate approval as first Black woman on Fed Board of Governors

May 11 (UPI) -- The Senate has confirmed President Joe Biden's historic nomination of Lisa Cook to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, making her the first Black woman to join the panel in more than a century.

The upper chamber confirmed Biden's nominee by a vote of 51-50. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.

Last month, Biden urged the Senate to "swiftly confirm" four nominees to the Board of Governors -- Cook, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, Lael Brainard and Philip Jefferson.

Cook so far is just the second of Biden's nominees for the Federal Reserve to receive Senate approval, as Republicans in the chamber have pushed back against his appointees -- particularly in view of rising inflation over the past year.

No Republicans voted to confirm Cook, arguing that she's unqualified for a spot on the Fed Board of Governors.

"Professor Cook has no proven expertise in monetary economics at all, much less fighting inflation," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said according to NBC News.

Cook has a doctorate in economics and has been a professor at Michigan State University for close to 20 years. She was elected to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's board this year.

Cook said during her confirmation hearing in February that she intends to bring "diverse perspectives" to the Fed's Board of Governors in a bid to improve its approach to inflation and unemployment.

"She will bring a critical voice to the Fed -- one that has been missing for far too long," Senate banking committee Chair Sherrod Brown said according to CNN.