Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he supports raising interest rates by a full percentage point by the start of July — including the first half-point hike since 2000 — in response to the hottest inflation in four decades.

The White House's pick for vice chair for supervision, Sarah Bloom Raskin, took the brunt of criticism from Republicans on Thursday. But it seemed to do little to sow doubt among the Senate Banking Committee's moderate Democrats about Raskin or fellow nominees Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson.

Republicans have knocked Sarah Bloom Raskin as too liberal on climate change and Lisa Cook as underqualified ahead of a Senate Banking Committee hearing Thursday. Meanwhile, a Democratic senator's illness threatens to stall nomination votes in the full chamber.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin praised all five of President Biden's nominees for the Federal Reserve, an important signal for their confirmations in the 50-50 Senate.

The Federal Reserve’s shift toward a major reduction of its footprint in the U.S. bond market this year has upended expectations for sustained cutbacks to the Treasury’s quarterly sales of longer-term debt, forcing dealers to gird for bigger auction sizes down the road.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was ready to raise interest rates in March and didn’t rule out moving at every meeting to tackle the highest inflation in a generation.

Treasury dealers and investors are busy trying to predict exactly when the Federal Reserve might pull the trigger on cutting the size of its balance sheet and how big that drawdown could be when it does.

The Federal Reserve Board would become far more diverse if Sarah Bloom Raskin, Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook are confirmed by the Senate. Jefferson and Cook are respected economists seen as likely to get the nod, but Republicans will challenge Raskin's assertions that bank regulators can play a vital role in combating climate change.

Federal Reserve officials said a strengthening economy and higher inflation could lead to earlier and faster interest-rate increases than previously expected, with some policy makers also favoring starting to shrink the balance sheet soon after.

The guessing game is over about President Biden’s pick for Federal Reserve chair, but several names are in the mix for three additional vacancies on the board, including vice chair for supervision.