WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - At 72, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has grandkids to play with, a golf game to get back to and a tune or two to master on the guitar.
He also faces a choice: Whether to devote the next years to his family and passions or to battling from inside the Fed to shape if not stymie any Trump administration effort to undermine the independence of the world’s most important central bank or radically remake its structure.
Though his term as Fed chief ends in May, with President Donald Trump expected to nominate a replacement soon, Powell’s separate seat on the Fed’s Board of Governors does not expire for two more years, giving him a potentially critical vote on monetary policy and any broader changes at the central bank until near the end of Trump’s presidency.
Like Trump a dealmaker - in Powell’s case from his years at the Carlyle Group private equity firm - the Fed chief has no reason to tip his hand.
“I’m focused on my remaining time as chair. I haven’t got anything new on that to tell you,” Powell said when asked about his plans during a press conference after a December 9-10 policy meeting, a refrain he repeats whenever asked.
