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US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
Al Drago / AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s announcement of who will head the Federal Reserve is “imminent,” according to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown.
“I hear it’s imminent,” Brown (D., Ohio) said Bloomberg. “I’m not going to wonder who I think it might be now. I’m assuming the decision has been made and they have not announced it, but I do not even know.”
Brown, who chairs the committee responsible for the initial review of the nomination, said White House officials had warned him to expect the announcement without being more specific.
Biden is widely expected to make the election before Thanksgiving, although current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s term expires in February. Concerns about rising inflation have likely accelerated Biden’s timeline for electing leadership to the Fed.
“We’ll see,” press secretary Jen Psaki said in a daily briefing when asked if Biden would announce his election this week. “I have nothing to preview for you yet. I understand the interest.”
Read more: Who will be the next Fed chair? Weighs the odds for Brainard vs. Powell.
Powell’s four-year term expires in February, shortening Biden’s window to select a nominee and get them to review the investigation and confirmation process.
“It probably increases the likelihood that either Powell will be reconfirmed or we have a candidate who has been through the confirmation process before, such as Lael Brainard,” said Raymond James analyst Ed Mills. “The chance of a wildcard choice should be low.”
While Powell is the frontrunner for the nomination – he has broad bipartisan support – Brainard, a current Fed governor, has emerged as a possible candidate after meeting with Biden last week. Each of the nominees would imply a general continuation of current Fed policy, Mills said.
“We continue to expect President Powell to be reappointed,” Citigroup analysts wrote in a note. “Governor Brainard is the most likely alternative choice in our opinion (and was reportedly the only other official interviewed by Biden) and would be more dove-like.”
Political betting markets largely repeat the prediction, with the online betting site PredictIt predicting a 67% chance that Powell will win the nomination and 34% that Brainard will be nominated.
Write to Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com
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