Jerome Powell Accepts Renomination as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell (R) speaks as President Joe Biden (L) listens during an announcement at the White House in Washington, on Nov. 22, 2021. Alex Wong/Getty Images

On November 22, Chairman Jerome Powell, in a press release, accepted his renomination for a second term by President Joe Biden to head the Federal Reserve Board.

Lael Brainard, the Federal Reserve Board governor, also accepted her nomination the same day to be Vice Chair of the Fed in a separate press statement. It was expected by many that Biden would renominate Powell.

Brainard, who was nominated to the Fed Board by former President Barack Obama in 2014, is widely seen as a check on Powell, as she is a known dove in regards to the retainment of easy monetary policy and low interest rates.

The president currently has three Fed governor seats to fill, after the announced retirement of Randal Quarles at the end of 2021 and the expiration of Richard Clarida’s term in January 2022. The remaining vacancy was previously held by Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen.

Powell in his acceptance pledged to boost the pandemic-affected economy by using his renewed mandate to address high inflation and supply shortages, along with additional issues such as climate change, modernization of the payments system, and economic cyber attacks.

Gold prices fell more than two percent on Monday as the dollar jumped after Powell’s announcement. Expectations are positive that the central bank may stay the course on tapering economic support. U.S. government bond yields, which move inversely to prices, rose on the news, with those on two- and five-year Treasuries hitting their highest levels since early 2020.