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U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday reappointed Jerome Powell to a second term as chair of the country\u2019s central bank, the Federal Reserve, saying that Powell has played a pivotal role in helping the United States recover from the worst of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.<\/P>
Biden\u2019s reappointment of Powell, 68, to one of the most important economic policy positions in the world, ends weeks of speculation in financial markets and in Washington political circles. Some progressive Democrats in Congress had pushed Biden to name Fed Governor Lael Brainard to head the Fed, but the president instead named her as vice chair.<\/P>
Biden\u2019s decision to tap Powell, a Republican and former private equity executive, to another four-year term is a rare instance in which he renamed a key official first appointed by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.<\/P>
At the White House, Biden said he named a Republican rather than a Democrat because \u201cwe need stability and independence at the Fed.\u201d He said Powell has \u201cbroad bipartisan support\u201d in a politically divided country.<\/P>
The president called Powell \u201cthe right person to see us through\u201d the recovery from the damage caused by the pandemic and the fastest increase in U.S. consumer prices in 31 years \u2014 a 6.2% annualized surge in October.<\/P>
Investors mostly greeted the Powell reappointment favorably, with two of the three major U.S. stock indexes \u2014 the Dow Jones average of 30 key stocks and the broader S&P 500 \u2014 up sharply throughout trading on Monday, although the technology-heavy Nasdaq index fell.<\/P>
In politically fractious Washington, Powell is expected to again win Senate confirmation. Of the 84 lawmakers who voted for him four years ago, 68 of them are still in office, equally split between Democrats and Republicans.<\/P>
One Powell opponent, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, said she would vote against his reappointment while supporting Brainard\u2019s nomination. Warren cited what she says are Powell\u2019s \u201cfailures on regulation, climate and ethics.\u201d<\/P>
Powell was first named to the Fed\u2019s seven-member policy-making board a decade ago by then-President Barack Obama, another Democrat, before being elevated to Fed chair by Trump. Biden also has three other current or upcoming vacancies to fill on the Fed board, which broadly sets economic policy for the U.S., the world\u2019s largest economy.<\/P>
Biden said the U.S. has made \u201cremarkable progress over the last 10 months in getting Americans back to work and getting our economy moving again,\u201d and praised the work of Powell and Brainard. Under Powell, the Fed provided stimulus money to boost the recovery.<\/P>
\u201cAs I\u2019ve said before, we can\u2019t just return to where we were before the pandemic, we need to build our economy back better, and I\u2019m confident that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard\u2019s focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable, and delivering full employment will make our economy stronger than ever before,\u201d Biden said in a statement.<\/P>
\u201cTogether, they also share my deep belief that urgent action is needed to address the economic risks posed by climate change and stay ahead of emerging risks in our financial system,\u201d the president said.<\/P>
\u201cFundamentally, if we want to continue to build on the economic success of this year, we need stability and independence at the Federal Reserve \u2013 and I have full confidence after their trial by fire over the last 20 months that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard will provide the strong leadership our country needs,\u201d Biden said.<\/P>
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, herself a former Fed chair, praised Powell\u2019s reappointment, as did several Republican senators.<\/P>
\u201cThe steady leadership of Chair Powell & the Federal Reserve helped ensure our economy was able to recover from a once-in-a-generation health & economic crisis,\u201d Yellen said. \u201cI’m pleased our economy will continue to benefit from his stewardship, & the expertise & experience of Lael Brainard.\u201d<\/P>
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Source: Voice of America<\/P>
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday reappointed Jerome Powell to a second term as chair of the country\u2019s central bank, the Federal Reserve, saying that Powell has played a pivotal role in helping the United States recover from the worst of the economic …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n