Powell confirmed to serve second term as Fed chair

The Senate yesterday voted 80-19 to confirm Jerome Powell’s nomination to serve a second term as Federal Reserve Board Chair; he will serve a four-year term. The Senate Banking Committee in March approved Powell’s nomination by a 23-1 vote.

Powell was reappointed to serve as Fed Chair by President Joe Biden in November 2021; he was first nominated by President Donald Trump in 2017 and confirmed in January 2018. Powell previously served as a governor on the Fed Board. Of note, several Fed nominees have also been recently cleared by the Senate, including Lisa Cook and Dr. Lael Brainard.

NAFCU has closely monitored the Fed’s movement on hiking the federal funds rate. Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at its third meeting of the year noted that while “overall economic activity edged down in the first quarter, household spending and business fixed investment remained strong,” and as anticipated, the committee announced it would begin reducing its holding of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities starting June 1.

 

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