President Joe Biden on Monday announced his intent to nominate Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve Chair.<\/p>\n
The White House also revealed that Biden intends to nominate current Fed Governor Lael Brainard as Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve System.<\/p>\n
“While there’s still more to be done, we’ve made remarkable progress over the last 10 months in getting Americans back to work and getting our economy<\/span> moving again,” Biden said.<\/p>\n He added, “That success is a testament to the economic agenda I’ve pursued and to the decisive action that the Federal Reserve has taken under Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard to help steer us through the worst downturn in modern American history and put us on the path to recovery.”<\/p>\n Biden expressed confidence Powell and Brainard’s focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable, and delivering full employment will make the economy stronger than ever before.<\/p>\n “Fundamentally, if we want to continue to build on the economic success of this year we need stability and independence at the Federal Reserve – 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,” Biden said.<\/p>\n Powell, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, took office as Fed Chair in February 2018. His current term was due to end in February 2022.<\/p>\n The news comes as the Fed recently announced plans to begin scaling back its asset purchase program as the economy grapples with elevated inflation.<\/p>\n While Biden was reportedly considering nominating Brainard as Fed Chair, a note from Capital Economics suggested the president chose Powell due to concerns ushering Brainard’s nomination through the Senate would have been more difficult.<\/p>\n “She has close ties to the Democratic party and is known to have donated to Hilary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Even as Vice Chair, she has to attract the support of every Democratic Senator, including Joe Manchin,” Capital Economics said.<\/p>\n The note added, “Powell, nominally a Republican, should have an easier ride in his nomination since he will attract some centrist Republican votes but, with three Democratic Senators saying they will vote no, his nomination confirmation may not be completely straight forward either.”<\/p>\n The White House noted Biden still has three vacant seats on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to fill, including the important position of Vice Chair for Supervision<\/p>\n Biden intends to make those appointments beginning in early December, and is committed to improving the diversity in the Board’s composition, the White House said. <\/p>\n