Yellen is betting on re-appointing Powell as Fed chairman – Bloomberg

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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell adjusts his tie when he comes to testify before a Senate Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on “The Half-Yearly Monetary Policy Report in Congress” at Capitol Hill in Washington, USA, July 15, 2021. REUTERS / Kevin Lamarque / Stock Photo

August 21 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told White House advisers she supports the appointment of Jerome Powell as president of the U.S. Federal Reserve, whose term expires in February, a Bloomberg News reporter wrote Twitter.

President Joe Biden has not made any decision and will likely weigh in on Labor Day in early September, the journalist added in the tweet.

A U.S. Treasury Department spokesman declined to comment. The White House did not make any comments immediately available.

Powell was elevated to the Fed presidency by President Donald Trump in 2018, replacing then-Fed President Yellen.

Republican Sen. Steve Daines, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, last week urged Biden to keep Powell at the helm of the Federal Reserve for four more years to build confidence in an improving economy. Read more

Powell’s renaming “would send a strong signal to households, businesses and consumers that the head of the Federal Reserve continues to enjoy broad bipartisan support and will act as necessary to achieve its dual mandate of price stability and maximum occupancy, “he wrote.

After the coronavirus pandemic caused widespread shutdowns last year, the Powell-led Fed lowered its overnight interest rate to near zero and began a massive bond buying effort. This support is evidenced by the exit from a financial crisis and the opening of the road to a rapid economic recovery.

A White House official said last month that Biden would soon participate in his senior economic team in “a careful and thoughtful process” on Fed appointments.

Powell has his share of critics, including members of climate activist group 350.org, who call on Biden to appoint a “climate leader” to replace Powell and plan to protest Powell’s leadership during the annual central banking conference from the Fed next week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Reports of Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Edited by Will Dunham and Daniel Wallis

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