November 10 2020 - 13:08
Biden may face pressure to reshape Powell's Fed in first year
U.S. monetary policy won't be a top-of-mind concern for President-elect Joe Biden as he prepares to take office in January, with the Federal Reserve's economic arsenal already deployed against an ongoing recession and decisions about federal spending more pressing for the next administration.
But over his first year in office Biden will have to decide how deep an imprint he wants to put on the U.S. central bank, and particularly whether Fed Chair Jerome Powell's push this year to refocus it on job growth has earned enough credibility among Democrats to be reappointed.
Among the considerations the incoming Democratic president will have to weigh are likely calls from progressives for more extensive change at the Fed, given that the party's platform included reforms to make the Fed more attentive to issues like racial wealth inequality, and whether Powell is the right figure to pursue that.
Opposition to Powell may also arise from those who want tougher financial regulation. Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, now a key voice on financial regulatory issues, opposed his nomination in 2018.
-REUTERS
