Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference at the Federal Reserve, following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, in Washington, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference at the Federal Reserve following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
President Donald Trump listens to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speak during a visit to the Federal Reserve, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — When Jerome Powell was sworn in as chair of the Federal Reserve eight years ago, economists worried that inflation and interest rates were too low and that too few Americans had jobs.
Now, as Powell steps down from the post after eight tumultuous years, the U.S. economy is transformed: Inflation soared after the pandemic and has remained above the Fed’s 2% target for more than five years, angering voters and making rents, cars, and groceries harder to afford. The Fed’s key short-term rate rose to a two-decade high in 2023, even as unemployment fell to a half-century low.
