Senator Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, blocked Peter Diamond's nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors even though Diamond had recently won the Nobel Prize in economics, and Diamond was never confirmed.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent, high-quality sources (NPR, NBC News, The New Republic) detailing Shelby's role, the timing relative to Diamond's Nobel Prize, and the eventual withdrawal of the nomination. [tier=silver indep_score=0.917 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- The Best Reporting on What’s Wrong with Congress (seed:politics_and_current_events)
- https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43290745 (corroboration)
- https://www.npr.org/2011/06/13/137155383/as-economy-sputters-obamas-nominees-languish (corroboration)
- https://newrepublic.com/article/89465/peter-diamond-fed-shelby-senate-republican-stimulus (corroboration)