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Former U.S. Representative Barney Frank

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) The Federal Reserve will likely become a political football in the upcoming Republican presidential primary, said former U.S. Representative Barney Frank on Monday.

For the first time in a long time, the Fed is going to be an issue in a Republican nominating contest, Frank said at an event sponsored by The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings.

Republicans are split into two camps over the Fed, he said.

The more traditional mainstream conservative business wing of the Republican Party has always championed the Fed, while the more energized Tea Party wing is profoundly skeptical about the U.S. central bank, he said.

The Fed is an issue that divides the two main factions in the Republican Party, Frank said.

Frank said Tea Party Republicans want the Fed to have a single anti-inflation mandate, dropping the focus on economic growth.

Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said at the same panel that dropping the dual mandate might impact policy.

Frank, the former chairman of the House Financial Services panel, loved to be a thorn in the side of Republicans and to some extent his comments could be viewed in that light.

But Frank was able to work with Republicans. He called former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, the Republican of Texas and a chief Fed critic the most genuine man of integrity around.

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The Fed: Fed will be political football in Republican primary: Frank