Chastened by JPMorgan’s $2 billion loss, the Senate last week put aside party differences and confirmed two nominees chosen by President Obama for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, which regulates financial businesses and sets interest rates. In confirming Harvard professor Jeremy Stein, a Democrat, and former executive Jerome Powell, a Republican, the Senate restored the seven-member board to full strength for the first time since before the economic crisis. The nominations had been held up for months by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), but Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pushed hard for a vote, warning that a “fully functioning Fed” is needed to keep big banks like JPMorgan in line.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 contentious cartoons about Matt Gaetz's AG nominationCartoons Artists take on ethical uncertainty, offensive justice, and more
-
Funeral in Berlin: Scholz pulls the plug on his coalitionTalking Point In the midst of Germany's economic crisis, the 'traffic-light' coalition comes to a 'ignoble end'
-
Joe Biden's legacy: economically strong, politically disastrousIn Depth The President boosted industry and employment, but 'Bidenomics' proved ineffective to winning the elections
-
US election: who the billionaires are backingThe Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala HarrisThe Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockadeSpeed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attemptSpeed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
