Vice President Kamala Harris ignored a shouted question Jerome Powell after she gave a speech Monday, though her past opposition to th...
Vice President Kamala Harris ignored a shouted question Jerome Powell after she gave a speech Monday, though her past opposition to the newly-reappointed Federal Reserve chair puts her at odds with the president.
During the Monday event, Harris was highlighting the administration's plan to invest $1.5 billion to address a healthcare worker shortage in underserved communities.
'We remain determined to build a better future. We have an opportunity now to advance health equity,' she said, before turning to leave the room.
As she walked away, a reporter asked the vice president: 'Why is Jerome Powell the right fit to lead the Fed?'
Harris did not turn back, nor answer the question.
'We remain determined to build a better future. We have an opportunity now to advance health equity,' she said, before turning to leave the room. As she walked away, a reporter asked the vice president: 'Why is Jerome Powell the right fit to lead the Fed?'
Harris was one of only 13 senators to vote against Powell when his confirmation came up for a vote in 2018. Eighty-four voted in favor of him and three abstained.
The dozen senators who joined Harris in opposition were Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, Cory Booker, D-N.J., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ed Markey, D-Mass., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
President Biden renominated for a second term Trump-era Republican Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who he said brought 'stability' and 'independence' and shared his view of maximum employment, on Monday.
'Some will no doubt question why I am renominating Jay when he was the choice of a Republican predecessor,' Biden noted in a speech. 'Put directly, at this moment of both enormous potential and enormous uncertainty for our economy, we need stability and independence at the Federal Reserve.'
The choice of Powell, despite Harris' past opposition, comes at a time when a CNN report has circulated that the vice president feels 'sidelined' in the role of the administration and 'constrained' by what she is able to do politically.
While Biden praised the Fed chair, and senators on both sides of the aisle joined in congratulations, Harris has been quiet on the pick.
'Perhaps no entity plays a more important role in navigating these challenges than the Federal Reserve because it's the Fed's job to balance two key goals. First is to achieve maximum employment ... second to keep inflation low and stable.'
'To meet these goals is going to require patience, skill and independence. That's why today I'm nominating Jerome Powell for a second term as chair of the Federal Reserve.'
'In the last administration, he stood up to unprecedented political interference and doing so, successfully maintained the stability and credibility of this institution.' Biden continued. 'It's just one of the many reasons Jay has support across the political spectrum.'
The president said that because the rest of the economy is doing so well and unemployment has shot down to 4.6 percent, the US is in a position to 'attack inflation from a position of strength.'
Biden noted that both he and Powell believed in maximizing employment with slightly less emphasis on curbing inflation.
'Jay a believer in what economists call maximum employment. That's an economy where companies have to compete to attract workers instead of workers competing with each other,' the president said.
Biden also said that he had spoken with Powell about the Fed's role in addressing climate change.
'He's made clear to me that a top priority will be to accelerate the Fed's effort to address and mitigate the risk that climate change poses to our financial system and to our economy,' Biden continued.
Biden nominated Lael Brainard, a Democrat, for vice chair. She will replace Richard Clarida, another Trump-appointed Republican.
Biden's nomination of Powell defied his liberal critics.
'We will use our tools to support the economy with a strong labor market and to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched,' Powell said, accepting the nomination.
Biden noted that both he and Powell believed in maximizing employment with slightly less emphasis on curbing inflation
'Other key priorities include vigilantly guarding the resilience and stability of the financial system, addressing evolving risks from climate change and cyber attacks and facilitating the modernization of the payment system while protecting consumers.'
Progressives had hoped Brainard would replace Powell at the no. 1 spot, as they insisted she more closely aligns with the president's robust economic agenda.
A wave of lawmakers on both sides have already thrown their support behind Powell, but Elizabeth Warren is likely to oppose the pick less than two months after calling him a 'dangerous man' who has weakened the banking system.
The nominations now head to the Senate for confirmation, which is likely to succeed - of the 84 senators who voted to confirm Powell in 2018, 68 are still in office. Vice President Kamala Harris was among the few 'no' votes when Powell's first confirmation came up.
Powell served as an assistant secretary and as undersecretary of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush. President Obama appointed him to the seven-member Federal Reserve board, where he served until Trump appointed him to lead the Fed in 2018. Before that, he was an attorney and investment banker in New York City.
Progressives had hoped Brainard would replace Powell at the no. 1 spot, as they insisted she more closely aligns with the president's robust economic agenda
Both Powell and Brainard share the president's goal of maximum employment, with a slightly higher tolerance for inflation.
Biden insisted his pick was based on 'stability' and 'independence.'
Powell's renomination comes at a time of 6.2 percent year-over-year inflation, 0.9 percent in October alone. But the Labor Department said the economy added 531,000 jobs in October. The jobs report said the unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent from 4.8 percent in September.
Powell announced earlier this month the Fed would start tapering emergency bond purchases beginning Nov. 15, and end them altogether by mid-2022. He insisted the Fed still has no plans to raise ultra-low interest rates designed to drive the economy out of the pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic, the Fed bought $80 billion in Treasuries and $40 billion in housing-backed securities each month, swelling its balance sheet from to $8.6 trillion from $4.4 trillion.
Powell, who long insisted inflation would be 'transitory,' now seems less certain about when it will die down.
'We continue to believe that our dynamic economy will adjust to the supply and demand imbalances,' he said. 'It is very difficult to predict the persistence of supply constraints or their effects on inflation.'
Supply chains 'will return to normal function but the timing of that is highly uncertain.'
He said: 'We remain attentive to risks and will ensure that our policy is well positioned to address the full range of plausible economic outcomes.'
Powell has bypassed much of the blame for inflation on Capitol Hill, where Republicans have Biden's costly economic agenda in their cross hairs. Many endorsed Powell's renomination. But in recent weeks, some have criticized Powell as too slow to recognize the persistence of inflation.
Under Powell's watch in March 2020, the Fed intervened in the US economy to mitigate repercussions from COVID-19 within financial markets, including up to $2.3 trillion in lending to support households, employers, and state and local governments.
But lead critic Sen. Elizabeth Warren unleashed on Powell in late September, calling him a 'dangerous man.'
The Massachusetts Democrat argued that Powell weakened the US banking system by rolling back financial regulations that were enacted after the 2008 financial crisis.
'Over and over, you have acted to make our banking system less safe, and that makes you a dangerous man to head up the Fed, and it's why I will oppose your re-nomination.'
In 2019, the Fed weakened rules that ensure that firms have adequate cash to meet their obligations by lowering liquidity requirements for banks. The guidelines were put in place after the 2008 crisis.
Other progressives led by Ocasio-Cortez and fellow Squad members Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley accused Powell of not caring enough about climate change.
'Under his leadership the Federal Reserve has taken very little action to mitigate the risk climate change poses to our financial system,' they wrote in a letter, later adding: 'Secondly, under Chair Powell the Federal Reserve has substantially weakened many of the reforms enacted in the wake of the Great Recession.'
Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen, who chaired the Fed from 2014 to 2018, had supported Powell's renomination.
A separate position of vice chair for supervision, a bank regulatory post, remains vacant, along with two other slots on the Fed's board. Those positions will be filled in early December, the president said.
Powell's renomination received bipartisan support.
'During his tenure, he implemented a number of sensible regulatory reforms that helped spur economic growth while preserving the best capitalized banking system in American history,' Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a top member on the Banking Committee said.
'While I have strongly disagreed with Chairman Powell's decision to continue the Fed's emergency monetary policy - long after the emergency has passed - Chairman Powell's recent comments give me confidence he recognizes the risk of higher and more persistent inflation.'
'Chairman Powell has brought steady leadership and sound judgment to the Federal Reserve's mission of promoting maximum employment, stable prices and a sound financial system,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, also announced his support. 'I believe he's a person of capability and integrity. While I disagree with some of the Fed's prior policies, his recent comments give me hope that the Fed is ready to address the rising inflation we're experiencing.'
Warren announced she would continue to oppose Powell's confirmation.
'It's no secret I oppose Chair Jerome Powell's renomination, and I will vote against him,' Warren said in a statement. 'Powell's failures on regulation, climate and ethics make the still-vacant position of Vice Chair of Supervision critically important.'
'President Biden's nomination of Jerome Powell to continue as Fed Chair, and Lael Brainard as Vice Chair is appropriate As our country continues to navigate a pandemic economy, one where inflation has emerged as a new challenge, Powell will be a steady hand that promotes stability during uncertain times,' said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.
'I've known Jay for many years, and while the two of us do not agree on everything, I believe he has done a good job despite Democrat spending and policies discouraging work, making his dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment extremely difficult,' Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said in a statement. 'I intend to support Chair Powell for a second term.”
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