Biden Nominates Jerome Powell For A Second Term As Federal Reserve Chair

President Joe Biden on Monday nominated United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for a second term as head of the nation’s central bank. Powell was first tapped by former President Donald Trump to lead the institution in 2018.

Touting the ongoing economic progress since he took office, Biden also named Dr. Lael Brainard, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, to serve as Powell’s vice-chair.

“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 moving again. 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. As I’ve said before, we can’t just return to where we were before the pandemic, we need to build our economy back better, and I’m confident that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard’s focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable, and delivering full employment will make our economy stronger than ever before. Together, they also share my deep belief that urgent action is needed to address the economic risks posed by climate change, and stay ahead of emerging risks in our financial system. 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 of the two colleagues.

“America needs steady, independent, and effective leadership at the Federal Reserve so it can advance its dual goals of keeping inflation low and prices stable, as well as creating a strong labor market that broadly benefits workers with better jobs and higher wages. President Biden has full confidence in Powell and Brainard’s experience, judgment, and integrity to continue delivering on those mandates and to help build our economy back better for working families,” the White House added in a statement on Biden’s behalf.