A single 0.50% rate cut could save a homeowner with a $400,000 mortgage about $104 per month, or more than $1,200 per year, on a 30-year mortgage compared with current rates. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. NPR’s A Martinez speaks with Sarah Binder, a professor at George Washington University, about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s approach to economic policy. He went on to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016 over Donald Trump and again snubbed Trump in 2020 during the President’s second campaign, announcing his support for President Joe Biden. The retired general later delivered an address in support of Biden during the Democratic National Convention.
Rate changes also influence decisions like whether to refinance your mortgage, lock in a fixed-rate auto loan, or shift savings into higher-yielding accounts. Trump’s renewed public attacks and threats to “study” Powell’s removal came amid Trump’s calls for the Federal Reserve to lower its key interest rates amid the turmoil set off by the administration’s tariff policies. Behind Trump’s demands for lower federal funds rates lies frustration with slowing economic growth and higher consumer prices, which he blames on the Fed rather than his sweeping tariff policies. Jerome Hayden “Jay” Powell is a key figure in American finance, currently serving as the 16th Chair of the Federal Reserve. Born on February 4, 1953, in Washington, D.C., Powell’s career spans law, investment banking, and government service.
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In a rare moment of candor at the Economic Club of Chicago yesterday (April 16), Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave a glimpse into his daily routine—and addressed the political pressures threatening the Fed’s independence. In hammer candlestick 2006, he was a speaker at a special series called Get Motivated, along with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. For the remainder of Bush’s first term, Powell tried to establish an international coalition to assist in the rebuilding of Iraq. In September 2004, he testified before Congress that the intelligence sources he used in his February presentation to the United Nations were “wrong” and it was unlikely that Saddam had any stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Powell advised the committee of the necessity to reform the intelligence community in order to improve its gathering and analysis. In 2004, after acknowledging it was unlikely that Iraq possessed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, Powell announced his resignation as secretary of state.
Endorsement of Barack Obama
In his Sunday speech, he defended American universities, which have come under sharp attacks from the Trump administration as research grants and other funding have been cut for several Ivy League universities, including Princeton. Trump has subjected Powell to a stream of attacks for several months because the Fed has kept its key rate unchanged this year, after cutting it three times at the end of 2024. Trump has said there is “no inflation” so the Fed should reduce borrowing costs.
Powell maintained that the rate hikes were necessary to prevent inflation and ensure long-term economic stability, and said he would not resign if asked. Powell has repeatedly faced Trump’s wrath over the Fed’s interest rates decisions. Earlier this month, Trump called Powell a “FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue” after the central bank decided to leave rates unchanged, citing concerns about inflation and unemployment figures potentially rising.
On November 2, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Powell to serve as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve.2 His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 31, 2018 and took office on February 5, 2018. But he has also voiced concerns about the continued use of quantitative easing. In a 2012 Federal Reserve committee meeting, Powell said the policy could encourage investors to take irresponsible risks, knowing the Fed would be there to inject money if their bets failed. Powell was a broadly uncontroversial pick for Fed chair, with one Wall Street player — Ward McCarthy, of the investment bank Jefferies — telling CNBC he was the “boring” choice.
- Jerome Hayden “Jay” Powell (born February 4, 1953) is an American investment banker and lawyer who has been the 16th chair of the Federal Reserve since 2018.
- He continued as chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the first few months of the Clinton administration.
- Powell’s bipartisan support, both under Presidents Obama and Trump, underscores his reputation as a consensus builder.
- Born Colin Luther Powell on April 5, 1937, in Harlem, New York, Powell was the son of Jamaican immigrants Luther and Maud Powell.
Soldiers actively hunted, herded, and killed elderly people, children, infants, and raped women while other Soldiers sic looked on and did nothing to stop the massacre. MAJ Colin Powell, a recently assigned Deputy G3, investigated the allegations described in the Glen letter. He proved unable to uncover either wide-spread unnecessary killings, war crimes, or any facts related to My Lai … Powell’s efforts have been crucial in maintaining financial stability and supporting economic growth during crises.
Accomplishments Under the Reagan and Bush Administrations
His close-knit family provided support and a caring environment during his childhood. He found his calling in the military, and his entire adult life has been in the service of his country. As a soldier, he was committed to protecting the nation and advancing democratic values.
It remains unclear whether the President has the legal authority to remove Powell. Under current law, the executive branch must provide a non-political justification to prove that the Fed chair is no longer capable of fulfilling the role. Fed policymakers manage uncertainty by trying to predict the different ways the economy could evolve in the coming months, based on economic models using a vast array of data. Bush decided to go to war and, in a crucial moment, Powell agreed to support the president.
Powell was accused of misleading the public in the lead up to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003
Powell was on the Fed board during Obama’s second term, when the Fed maintained near-0% interest rates and deployed quantitative easing following the crash. Though the central bank is supposed to operate independently of the White House, Trump has moved to expand his presidential power over independent agencies. After the shock of the COVID-19 crisis, the stock market and housing market boomed in 2020, though some observers were critical of Powell’s decisions.
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Powell later admitted that the presentation was rife with inaccuracies and twisted intelligence provided by others in the Bush administration. He later called his UN speech a “blot” that he regretted would forever be on his record. Powell’s efforts during the Gulf War also earned him further military awards, including a Congressional Gold Medal and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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The Senate confirmed Powell’s nomination in early 2018 by a bipartisan vote of 83 to 14. A 2014 Pew Research survey found that only 24% of respondents could identify the Federal Reserve Board’s then-chair, Janet Yellen. And in a May 2020 survey, conducted by Ipsos/Axios during the leadership of current chair Jerome Powell, 51% of respondents said they did not trust the nation’s central bank to look out for their best interests. A day after Powell’s speech, Trump how to tell whether it’s time to retire attacked the Fed chair on Truth Social and suggested to reporters in the Oval Office that he has the authority to remove Powell before his term is up — a position Trump also held during his first term in office. Powell, 72, has been a member of the Fed’s board of governors since 2012, when President Barack Obama nominated him to fill an unexpired term.
Colin Powell, Mrs. Brenda Schwarzkopf and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf during a parade for the men and women who served in Desert Storm, 10 June 1991. He returned to Vietnam in 1968 for a second tour, this time as a battalion executive officer somewhat removed from the fighting. However, he was recognised for bravery when he escaped a helicopter crash but repeatedly returned to the burning wreck to rescue a number of his fellow soldiers.
- Colin Luther Powell was born on 5 April 1937, in Harlem, New York, to Jamaican immigrants of limited means.
- His tenure has seen significant interventions, like slashing interest rates and introducing emergency loan programs, which have been crucial in maintaining financial stability.
- Conducted every five years, the framework review helps provide officials with a blueprint for monetary policy ahead.
He was appointed an assistant secretary and then under secretary of the U.S. In the latter role, Powell helped investigate the investment bank Salomon Brothers for manipulating the treasury bond market, which led to the firm paying $290 million in fines and restitution. Trump has criticized Jerome Powell’s decision of making monetary policy stricter, opposing lowering federal interest rates, and establishing quantitative easing, describing them as his lack of vision.
While on pepperstone forex his second Vietnam tour of duty from 1968 to 1969, the 31-year-old Army major was given the assignment of investigating the My Lai massacre. Powell’s report seemed to refute the allegations of wrongdoing and stated, “Relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent.” Also during this tour in Vietnam, Powell was injured in a helicopter crash. Despite his injury, he managed to rescue his comrades from the burning helicopter, for which he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal. In all, Powell has received 11 military decorations, including the Legion of Merit. The Fed’s mandate requires balancing the need to maintain price stability by controlling inflation and keeping unemployment low. Premature rate cuts could fuel asset bubbles while entrenching higher inflation, ultimately forcing more aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes later, potentially triggering deeper recessions and greater job losses.