President Donald Trump announced Thursday Jerome Powell will be the next Federal Reserve chairman.
Powell is nominated to succeed current chair Janet Yellen, former President Barack Obama’s appointee, who has chaired the Federal Reserve board of governors since February 2014. Trump said Yellen was a “wonderful woman” and that she has done a “terrific job,” but Trump thought Powell would be a better person for the job.
Most recent presidents have nominated Federal Reserve chairmen for a second term, even if they were chosen by a president of the opposing party. Trump is now the first president to pass over a first-term chairperson in modern political history.
“He is strong. He is committed. He is smart,” Trump said about Powell in a press conference from the White House Thursday.
WATCH:
Pres. Trump on Jerome Powell, named as next Fed chair: “He is strong. He is committed. He is smart.” https://t.co/eidgbwBRjy pic.twitter.com/1FA68ayVb3
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 2, 2017
Powell has strong ties to the financial industry as a former executive at the Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C., investment firm, and would be the richest Fed chairman since the 1940s, according to The Washington Post.
Trump teased the nomination over the weekend in an Instagram video. “It will be a person who hopefully will do a fantastic job,” Trump said. “I think everybody will be very impressed.”
Trump reportedly made his final decision Wednesday and asked Powell to serve.
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