Jay Powell Confirmed as Next Fed Chair

Yesterday, the Senate voted to confirm Jay Powell as the 16th Chairman of the Federal Reserve. The vote was 84-13.

Powell, 64, has been a Fed governor for five years and helped shape policy under Janet Yellen, who will leave after a single term as the first woman to lead the world’s most influential central bank. Powell has said his leadership would represent continuity with his predecessors.

Since Powell was nominated by President Trump in November, progressive Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have raised concerns about whether he would be too aggressive in dialing back post-financial crisis reforms.

“I’m deeply concerned that as soon as Governor Powell unpacks his boxes in the Chairman’s office, he will begin weakening the new rules Congress and the Fed put in place after the 2008 financial crisis,” Warren said according to prepared remarks. “We need someone who believes in tougher rules for banks — not weaker ones. That person is not Governor Powell.”

Despite those objections, Powell easily won confirmation on Tuesday by a vote of 84-13 with strong bipartisan support. Nearly 40 Democrats — with Charles Schumer, Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden among them — crossed the aisle to support him.

Janey Yellen’s term ends on February 3. Over the last 67 years, we’ve only had seven Fed chairs. Eisenhower, JFK and LBJ never appointed one.

Of the 13 no votes, I can’t help noticing that many of them seem to be senators who wouldn’t mind being president someday: Booker, Cruz, Gillibrand, Harris, Paul, Rubio, Sanders and Warren.

Posted by on January 24th, 2018 at 11:36 am


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.