Trump Fed nominees oppose terms of keeping Jay Powell as temporary chair

{"text":[[{"start":8.4,"text":"Two Trump-nominated Federal Reserve officials have objected to a move to allow Jay Powell to remain as the central bank’s chair indefinitely, highlighting political divides at an institution that has come under repeated attacks from the White House. "}],[{"start":22.200000000000003,"text":"Powell, whose second term at the helm of the Fed expires on Friday, was named as chair pro tempore, filling in for Kevin Warsh until he officially becomes chair. "}],[{"start":32.1,"text":"Stephen Miran and Michelle Bowman, both nominated to the Fed’s board by US President Donald Trump, said in a joint statement that while they supported Powell’s temporary designation as chair, the “unlimited timeframe” meant that they “cannot support this action”. Miran voted against the decision, while Bowman abstained."}],[{"start":50.7,"text":"Warsh was confirmed in a Senate vote last week and could be sworn in as soon as next week. The 54-45 vote saw Trump’s pick to replace Powell receive just one vote from a Democratic lawmaker, Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":64.75,"text":"Bowman’s and Miran’s objections come as the Fed’s independence has come under attack from the White House, with Trump lambasting senior central bank officials for refusing to aggressively cut interest rates. "}],[{"start":75.95,"text":"Trump said ahead of Warsh’s confirmation that he would fire Powell if he remained chair after his second term expired. "}],[{"start":83.25,"text":"Bowman and Miran said in the statement that the election of Powell as temporary chair “should be limited to a finite time period of at least a week”, though they “would support a period up to a month”. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":94.9,"text":"The move to keep Powell temporarily in place was supported by the rest of the seven-member board. "}],[{"start":102.30000000000001,"text":"While the Fed governors said the situation was “unlike any historical precedent”, there has often been a delay between new Fed chairs being confirmed by Congress and being officially sworn in. "}],[{"start":114.60000000000001,"text":"The Fed said in a statement that the “temporary action to name the incumbent as chair pro tempore is consistent with past practice during similar transitions between chairs. Powell will serve as chair pro tempore until Warsh is sworn in as the new chair.”"}],[{"start":130.15,"text":"Miran, who has consistently supported Trump’s calls for cuts since joining the Fed in September, is set to leave the US central bank once Warsh is sworn in. At the Fed’s most recent policy vote, he was the sole supporter of rate cuts. "}],[{"start":143.85,"text":"After lowering interest rates three times last year, the Fed has kept borrowing costs on hold in 2026 at 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent amid signs that the downturn in the US labour market had stabilised. "}],[{"start":158.29999999999998,"text":"The surge in energy prices sparked by the Iran war has all but ruled out rate cuts in the coming months, with Fed officials increasingly likely to drop their bias towards the next move in borrowing costs being down at their mid-June vote. "}],[{"start":170.85,"text":"Powell, who was originally nominated as chair of the central bank by Trump, has broken with a precedent followed since the 1930s and opted to remain as Fed governor for a period amid concerns over its independence from the White House. His term as governor expires in January 2028. "}],[{"start":189.15,"text":"Bowman, the Fed’s vice-chair for banking supervision, can remain on the board until 2034. "}],[{"start":202.4,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778982402_7680.mp3"}