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Jerome Powell will head the US Federal Reserve for a new term, starting next February. In a bipartisan act, Joe Biden decided to retain the Republican who had been appointed by his predecessor Donald Trump.
With our correspondent in Washington, Guillaume Naudin
It is no small thing to choose a central bank boss in these times of economic turmoil and inflationary pressures. Jerome Powell is therefore retained for a further four-year term. During a speech at the White House, Joe Biden said that the Fed boss was ” the right person To lead the institution. Because it has proven itself during the pandemic and that monetary policy has contributed to the recovery of the American economy, the fastest to recover among the developed countries, as the American president likes to point out.
Immediately maintained by Joe Biden, Jerome Powell wanted to be reassuring about the fight against inflation: ” We will use our tools both to support the economy and a strong labor market, and to prevent high inflation from taking hold. “, Said the president of the Fed also at the White House on Monday.
The climate, a new priority for the Fed
Joe Biden also felt that the Fed should be “ leader ”In taking climate change into account. A subject that has earned Jerome Powell many criticisms from the left wing of the Democratic Party.
Precisely, the boss of the Fed has made it one of the priorities of his new mandate, insisting on ” the fight against the evolution of risks linked to climate change and cyber attacks. »
Democrat Lael Brainard named vice-president
For the tenant of the White House, it is not a problem that Jerome Powell is a Republican, initially appointed to this post by Donald Trump. A choice that the former president had also publicly regretted when he criticized the rate hike decided by the Fed. He even wanted to dismiss him, but the Federal Reserve being an independent institution, he was unable to do so.
Progressive Democrats, on the other hand, will be at their expense. Recently, Senator Elizabeth Warren had said that it would be dangerous to leave Jerome Powell in office and that he had always been in favor of financial deregulation. She preferred the Democratic economist Lael Brainard to him. She is still named vice-president of the institution by Joe Biden.
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