Fed Chair Jerome Powell's 'complicated' road to renomination
President Biden must select a new Federal Reserve chair, and the process may have grown a bit more complicated, reports Bloomberg. What was once an easy, almost shoo-in renomination of current Chair Jerome Powell has "morphed into a problem for the White House" amidst strong criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and ire from progressive groups over trading activity.
"The growing trading scandal at the Fed definitely impacts Powell's renomination," but "whether it will be enough to derail it remains unseen," said Aaron Klein, a former deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury Department under the Obama administration. The Fed is under fire over equities trades made by top officials under Powell's leadership.
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.
And despite the fact that Warren's criticisms and the current scandal reportedly haven't directly affected Powell's standing with the White House, and that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has endorsed him, Powell's renomination might also "irritate progressives in the midst of sensitive negotiations of [Biden's] multitrillion-dollar social spending package," writes Bloomberg. Ideally, the White House would nominate its candidate for February appointment by late October or early November.
Warren aside, Powell has the support of an otherwise "unsually wide" group, and could still be confirmed if he were renominated, "thanks to widespread support among Republican lawmakers," writes Bloomberg. Ultimately, the nomination decision is Biden's, a point Yellen echoed on Tuesday: "It's up to the president to make the nomination, and the president hasn't yet made that decision."
-
6 of the world’s most accessible destinationsThe Week Recommends Experience all of Berlin, Singapore and Sydney
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
