Assuming President Joe Biden nominates Jerome Powell as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Mr Powell will need a simple majority in the U.S. Senate to support his confirmation. In 2018, Mr Powell was confirmed via a Senate vote of 84-13 which meant that a number of Democrats also voted to support him. Among those dissenting was Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, who yesterday made it clear that she would not support his nomination in 2022.
Yesterday, during a Senate banking committee hearing, Mrs Warren expressed her belief that Mr Powell is making it too easy for large banks to take on big risks. “The Fed chair should be like a sentry, standing at the gates, making certain that banks are not loading up on risks that could take down the entire economy,” Warren told Bloomberg News. Mrs Warren went as far yesterday to mention Archegos Capital, the family office who exposed a number of banks to losses due to bad bets made by the family office.
That Mrs Warren would vehemently express her intent not to support Mr Powell (referencing him as a “dangerous man”) tells me that she has already received signals from the White House that Mr Powell will be nominated by President Biden. The Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, has expressed her support for Mr Powell and it is likely that he will garner a large majority of Republican support and the support of a sufficient number of Democrats. I believe this support will be provided in part to push back against the progressivism in the Congress, particularly in the House of Representatives.
Mrs Warren has not made any compelling arguments regarding the market forces that impact foreign exchange. There has been no discussion from her camp regarding relative income changes, product availability, relative interest rates, or speculation between the U.S. and other countries; market force observations that are of greater importance to traders and central banks. Such arguments, if substantiated, would have probably swayed support to her position among more senators (maybe), but we will never know.
Mr Biden’s rare smart play will be to nominate Mr Powell thereby providing the interbank market with increased certainty as to monetary policy. Regarding Mrs Warren, this may be just another “meh” moment.
Alton Drew
29 September 2021
