The Senate Banking Committee advanced Jerome Powell’s nomination for Federal Reserve chairman with strong bipartisan support Tuesday, setting him up for final confirmation.
The panel voted 23 to 1 in favor of Powell, with only Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts voting no.
Powell has moved swiftly toward easy confirmation as the top economic policymaker in the world as Congress has been preoccupied by the GOP tax reform effort and controversies surrounding President Trump.
“His judgment and expertise will be a continued asset to the board,” Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo of Idaho said of Powell, who has served as a governor of the Fed since being appointed by President Obama in 2012. “I look forward to continue working with Governor Powell on a host of issues once he’s confirmed as chairman.”
Ohio’s Sherrod Brown, the panel’s top Democrat, said he would have preferred Trump renominate Janet Yellen for a second term as chairman of the central bank. Nevertheless, he signed off on Powell’s candidacy, saying his chairmanship “provides our economy, since we couldn’t have Chair Yellen, with the best chance of continued economic growth.”
Powell consistently voted with Yellen on monetary policy and financial policy during their years together at the Fed. At the same time, he has a Republican background as a former George H.W. Bush Treasury official, and experience in the private sector as a private equity manager.
Warren said she opposed Powell because she believes he will lessen bank regulations, rather than increasing them.
“I’m very concerned that the Fed will systematically roll back post-crisis rules under Governor Powell’s leadership and that is a risk that our financial system cannot afford,” she said.
