Biden Opts To Re-nominate Powell As Fed Chair With Brainard As Deputy

President Joe Biden has chosen to re-nominate Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for a second term at the top of the nation’s central bank.

In a statement on Monday, the White House explained the decision to re-nominate Powell as chair with runner-up Lael Brainard as his deputy. The move was made with continuity of leadership in mind at a time when COVID-19 and inflation remain chief concerns for the administration.

Biden said the duo’s experience and record of “decisive action” during the pandemic was needed to right the course of the U.S economy toward recovery.

"As I’ve said before, we can’t just return to where we were before the pandemic, we need to build our economy back better," said the president. “I’m confident that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard’s focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable and delivering full employment will make our economy stronger than ever before.”

Speculation mounted last week about when Biden would announce his pick to head the Fed. In choosing Powell, the president appears to be heeding the advice of moderates within his own party as well as administration allies like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who preceded Powell as the Fed’s chair.

Biden’s choice to re-nominate Powell over Brainard as chair is likely to be welcomed in the Senate. Sixty-eight of the initial 84 senators who voted to confirm Powell when he was first nominated by former President Donald Trump remain in office, and that should be enough to overcome resistance from progressives who opposed Powell’s re-nomination.

A formal nomination and the confirmation process will begin in the days ahead as the U.S. continues to battle inflation and other pandemic-related issues.