Senate Confirms Powell as Federal Reserve Chair

The Senate confirmed Jerome Powell as the 16th chairman of the Federal Reserve on Tuesday after an 85-12 vote in favor of his confirmation. Powell will take over from current Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen after her term expires in February 2018.

The choice of Powell as new Fed Chair is a departure in a long tradition of reappointing Fed chairs to a second term since G. William Miller was the Fed Chair in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter.

Powell has served as a governor of the nation's central bank since he was nominated by President Obama in 2012, but much of his career has been in investment banking and private equity. If elected Powell is the first former investment banker to hold the position.

A Princeton University graduate, Powell was a lawyer in New York before he joined the investment bank Dillon Reed & Co. in 1984. He stayed there until he joined the Treasury Department in 1990. After he left Treasury, Powell worked as a partner at Carlyle Group, the private equity, and asset management giant, from 1997 to 2005.

Powell expressed his thoughts on the normalization of Monetary Policy during his speech in June 2017 for the Economic Club of New York. Powell said:

"The healthy state of our economy and favorable outlook suggest that the FOMC should continue the process of normalizing monetary policy. The Committee has been patient in raising rates, and that patience has paid dividends."

In addition, Powell largely supports Dodd-Frank, the sweeping set of reforms instituted after the financial crisis to make banks healthier, CNN reports.

“The nomination of Jerome Powell is an encouraging signal that the monetary policy that has been successful in stabilizing and maintaining the economy will continue in the near term, said Five Star Institute President and CEO Ed Delgado. “Powell’s wealth of diversified experience and deep understanding of our economy will serve him and the nation well in the years to come.”