President Joe Biden ended months of speculation over his pick to run the Federal Reserve in reappointing Jerome Powell as chair and promoting Fed Governor Lael Brainard to the bank’s No. 2 role.
The announcement kicks off an approval process in the U.S. Senate that could wrap up as early as next month or stretch into early 2022. Powell’s current term as chair expires in early February, and the Fed Board of Governors seat held by Richard Clarida, who currently holds the vice chair post to which Brainard has been nominated, expires at the end of January.
In the meantime, the Fed continues about its business, with its final policy meeting of the year in three weeks. Here’s what’s ahead for the leadership process and the Fed’s agenda:
The nominations of Powell and Brainard, whose stints as Fed board members date to 2012 and 2014, respectively, must be formally submitted to the Senate, which will refer them to the Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Democrat Sherrod Brown.
