WASHINGTON: US Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell on Sunday warned about the impact of a politicized Fed and made a broader call for the defense of democratic institutions in his first public remarks since the end of his eight-year stint as head of the central bank.
“Democratic institutions take much time, effort, and patience to build but can be torn down all too quickly,” Powell said in remarks prepared for delivery as he accepted the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, given by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
“It is essential that we preserve what is good about these institutions, even as we strive to improve them,” said Powell, who included the Fed along with the courts and universities as among the core institutions key to the country’s success and standing in the world. “Like many other institutions, the Fed has been undergoing a stress test,” Powell said, which in the central bank’s case has included efforts by President Donald Trump to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, calls for Powell’s resignation, and a criminal probe of Powell.
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL CITIZENS ALSO HONORED Powell’s term as chair formally ended on May 15. His successor, Kevin Warsh, was sworn in as Fed chair on May 22. Powell has decided to continue as a Fed governor in part because of what he regards as ongoing threats to the Fed’s independence, a decision that effectively prevents Trump from appointing another member to the Fed board for now.
