The Senate Banking Committee is set to confirm Trump’s nominee, Jerome Powell as the 16th Chairman of the Federal Reserve. If a successful vote is had in the committee, the vote will then go to the full Senate.
If the Powell is confirmed as the chairman of the Federal Reserve, he would be replacing the first female Chairwoman Janet Yellen, who has been chairing the central bank since February of 2014. Powell have been involved with the Federal Reserve since he was named to the Board of Governors in 2012 – where he was a voting member for the Federal Open Market Committee, an advisory role which influences the policies and decisions of the Fed. He had also served as an assistant secretary and the undersecretary for the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush.
Trump had nominated Powell for the Fed Chair back last year on November 2nd. The President said that his choice is right, as Powell has approximately 30 years of business experience.
“Mr. Powell has demonstrated steady leadership, sound judgment, and policy expertise,” a statement from the White House said. “Mr. Powell will bring to the Federal Reserve a unique background of Government service and business experience.”
On Nov. 28, 2017, the Senate Banking Committee further went on to hold a confirmation hearing for Jerome Powell where he went on to stress the immense importance of preserving the independence and the nonpartisan status of the Fed.
“If confirmed, I would strive, along with my colleagues, to support the economy’s continued progress toward full recovery,” Powell had said. “Our aim is to sustain a strong jobs market with inflation moving gradually up toward our target. We expect interest rates to rise somewhat further and the size of our balance sheet to gradually shrink.”
Furthermore, Powell has always been a very strict critic of the Federations’ bond-buying programs that are also famously known as the quantitative easing.
“I’m supporting (the decision) with a certain lack of enthusiasm, and I am somewhat uncomfortable with the road that we are on,” Powell had said at the Fed’s September 2012 meeting. Back then the Fed had been taking the decision to but $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities every month in an attempt to keep the interest rates as low as possible.
After the hearing of confirmation of Powell, the Senate voted for the approval of nomination on December 5th but had to re-nominate him because they had failed to vote their confirmation before the Session for the Senate had officially ended.
