A significant day for the Federal Reservepublished at 18:55 BST
Rachel Clun
Business reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,
Donald Trump and Jerome Powell touring the Fed Reserve’s refurbishment works
Today’s meeting is likely to be Jerome Powell’s last as
Federal Reserve chair.
It has been a tumultuous end to his term, which began after
he was nominated by US President Donald Trump in 2017.
For the last year in particular, Powell has been forced to defend
the bank’s independence against Trump’s demands that it cut interest rates.
But he won’t leave the post under one cloud, after the US justice
department dropped its investigation into him on Friday.
That investigation was launched over alleged cost overruns for
the refurbishment of the Fed’s aging buildings.
The probe had been widely criticised as an attempt to heap
pressure on the Bank, which is meant be independent.
Trump’s pick to replace Powell, Kevin Warsh, has taken the next step towards becoming Fed chair today as well,
after he was approved by the Senate Banking Committee. He now needs a full Senate vote to take the top job.
