Fed’s Jerome Powell rises to top of Trump’s list as business-savvy choice
Powell solves the problem of a Republican administration that wants ‘the Yellen Fed without Yellen’, says an analyst
Washington — Jerome Powell was not on US President Donald Trump’s early radar as a possible successor to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and was angling instead for a job as the US central bank’s vice-chair for supervision. But when he was passed over for that position last year, it was one in a chain of events that left the 64-year-old Fed governor and investment banker on the cusp of taking over as head of the world’s most powerful central bank. Trump is expected on Thursday afternoon to nominate Powell to replace Yellen when her term expires in February. Other contenders fell for different reasons, as Trump soured on top White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, decided against reappointing Yellen despite largely approving of her policies, and came to view two others as posing risks to the economy. In the end it was Powell, a Maryland native, avid cyclist, and guitar hobbyist, who checked all the boxes that mattered but carried none of the negatives. If nominated by Trump and th...
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