Powell wins enough Senate votes for confirmation as Fed chief

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Jerome Powell for a second four-year term as head of the Federal Reserve, paving the way for him to continue leading the U.S. central bank, which is in the midst of a battle against the highest inflation in 40 years.

Powell, nominated by US President Joe Biden, garnered bipartisan support in a divided Senate, with a final count of 80 senators in favor of his nomination and just 19 against.

The majority of votes against came from Republicans, but some Democrats, such as Bob Menendez and Elizabeth Warren, joined them.

Menendez said Powell had not done enough to promote diversity in the Fed’s leadership, and Warren said he had not fully complied with banking regulation.

Still, overall, the vote was an approval of Powell’s handling of the crisis the Covid-19 pandemic unleashed and the short but historically deep 2020 recession that marked his first stint in office.

It also offers a mandate to proceed with what may be the sharpest set of interest rate hikes since the early 1980s, when Paul Volcker led the central bank.

Powell, who has been on the Fed’s Board of Directors since 2012, was first named to head the institution by Donald Trump, who was soon displeased with him over a series of rate hikes.

Trump even considered trying to topple Powell, but both Republicans and Democrats came to his defense, and the Fed chief received high praise for defending central bank independence during the turmoil.

Biden has been more discreet with the Fed, but the Democratic president has seen his approval ratings drop because of rising inflation, which is still above 8% a year. Biden recently reminded Americans that the central bank’s job is primarily to fight inflation, and he has not been agitated by any specific action by the institution.