Jerome Powell Should Have Smooth Confirmation

Politico: “Powell — a Republican and a Trump appointee — is expected to win confirmation with bipartisan backing, driven by his record in heading off a financial crisis at the onset of the pandemic and steering the economy through the crippling recession that followed.”

“But he’ll face intense scrutiny from some Democrats such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for overseeing a rollback in Wall Street rules, an issue that has sharply divided progressives over whether he deserves a second term, and over a trading scandal that forced two top Fed officials to resign.”

Wall Street Journal: “Over his first term in office, Jerome Powell became arguably the most dovish chairman in the Federal Reserve’s modern history, giving priority to full employment in an era in which inflation seemed extinct. In his second term he may have to execute the reverse: giving priority to inflation at the risk of sacrificing jobs. The pivot could be painful for both Mr. Powell and President Biden, who reappointed him in part on his dovish record, and reflects the substantial reordering of economic conditions in just the past year.”