Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Brainard Interviewed by Biden for Fed Chair as Search Heats Up

Published 11/08/2021, 08:56 PM
Updated 11/08/2021, 09:18 PM
© Bloomberg. Lael Brainard, governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. Brainard said the labor market may soon meet her yardstick for scaling back asset purchases, while the Covid-19 delta variant could raise upside risks for inflation as supply constraints last longer.

© Bloomberg. Lael Brainard, governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. Brainard said the labor market may soon meet her yardstick for scaling back asset purchases, while the Covid-19 delta variant could raise upside risks for inflation as supply constraints last longer.

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard was interviewed for the top job at the U.S. central bank when she visited the White House last week, according to people familiar with the discussions, signaling that Chair Jerome Powell has a serious rival as President Joe Biden considers who will lead the Fed for the next four years.

Powell and Brainard are the only people who have publicly surfaced as being in the running for chair. Powell’s current term in that post expires in February and Biden said on Nov. 2 that he’d make a decision “fairly quickly.” Bloomberg News has previously reported that Brainard was also under consideration for the position of Fed vice chair for supervision.

The White House and Fed both declined to comment.

Biden’s scope to reshape the leadership of the Fed widened further on Monday when Governor Randal Quarles announced he would step down before the end of the year. Quarles’ tenure as vice chair for supervision expired in October, but he could have stayed on as a governor until 2032 and his exit hands Biden another slot to fill.

In addition to the seat vacated by Quarles, Vice Chair Richard Clarida’s term as a governor expires at the end of January and there is an open position on the seven-seat board.

A large majority of economists polled by Bloomberg News expect Biden will renominate Powell.

But the White House has raised the possibility with some Senate Banking Committee members that Powell might not be reappointed, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Discussing the chairmanship with Brainard could signify that the Biden team is weighing how a break with Powell might help advance their goals for the central bank. Brainard and Powell work closely together on multiple issues and are viewed as holding similar views on monetary policy, but she’s favored a tougher stance on big banks.

Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014, Brainard is currently the only Democrat serving on the Fed Board, and as a governor she leads some of the Fed’s most critical initiatives. She is governor overseeing financial stability surveillance at the Fed, and payments -- an area where the central bank is now innovating with the development of an instant transaction system and consideration of a digital currency.

With a Ph.D. from Harvard University, Brainard is viewed as a highly competent and experienced macroeconomist. She also co-authored new language on the Fed’s longer-run strategy that redefined the full employment mandate to a broad and inclusive goal.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

© Bloomberg. Lael Brainard, governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. Brainard said the labor market may soon meet her yardstick for scaling back asset purchases, while the Covid-19 delta variant could raise upside risks for inflation as supply constraints last longer.

Latest comments

So they have a “broad” goal?
Cute, but can she make a sandwich?
She'll get the job if she let's him have a little sniff...
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.