Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she opposes the renomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, branding him “a dangerous man” for his handling of the regulation of big banks.
The disclosure came during a Senate Banking Committee hearing with Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Warren, known for being a regulatory hawk, blasted the chairman for his perceived friendliness toward Wall Street.
“Renominating you means gambling that, for the next five years, a Republican majority at the Federal Reserve with a Republican chair who has regularly voted to deregulate Wall Street won’t drive this economy over a financial cliff again,” the Massachusetts Democrat said.
Warren said Powell has been “lucky” and invoked the 2008 financial collapse to argue that his deregulatory actions could end up causing economic peril in the future.
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“Your record gives me grave concern,” Warren told Powell. “Over and over, you have acted to make our banking system less safe, and that makes you a dangerous man to head up the Fed. And that’s why I will oppose your renomination.”
Warren said there are a lot of qualified candidates to take Powell’s place running the Fed, although she didn’t name anyone in particular. In the past, Warren has praised Lael Brainard, the sole Democratic member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Brainard’s name has been floated as a possible contender given her regulatory bona fides.
Despite Warren’s opposition, Fed watchers see Powell being removed from his role as unlikely, particularly as the Fed continues to steer the economy out of its pandemic-induced slump. Yellen, who was at the hearing with Powell, has reportedly expressed her support for Powell to top White House aides.
After Warren’s denunciation of Powell, GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota thanked Powell for his “hard work,” saying he looks forward to working with him for the next few years should President Joe Biden renominate him.
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Other Republicans have also expressed hope that Biden will keep Powell in place, and some Democrats, pleased with the Fed’s prioritization of full employment, have also thrown their support behind him.
