Jerome Powell, the quiet energy that resists Trump | EUROtoday

Not quickly enough for the American president … If relations between the two men had already been tense during the first term of Trump, they took a much more radical turn since the return to power of the real estate magnate. The central banker has become the useful punching of the American president, who can accuse him of all the evils of the American economy which he himself will provoke. Practical ! “But Trump additionally believes that his financial coverage will carry future advantages, and that the Fed should restrict the breakage,” says Gilles Moëc. This is also part of a throbbing debate in the United States on the role of independent authorities: some, like the American president, think that they have taken up too much space. »»

Faced with Donald Trump, “Jay” Powell resists, without making a wave. “The reality is that we will make our selections and that we’ll solely take them on the premise of our greatest reflection … of our greatest evaluation of the info on the best way to obtain our two aims, in an effort to greatest serve the American individuals […]. This is the one factor we are going to by no means do. We won’t ever be influenced by political pressures […]. People can say what they need. That would not trouble us. This isn’t an issue, however we are going to do what we’ve to do with out making an allowance for political components or some other exterior consideration, “he said with Flegme during an event organized by the Economic Club of Chicago last April. In November, he also said he would not resign, even if Trump asked him.

Compromises rather than chaos

Quiet force, this septuagenarian, born in Washington and graduate in law and political science, seems to be the exact opposite of Donald Trump who only flourishes through permanent destabilization. Moderate republican (he was under-secretary of state to the treasury at the time of George Bush Father), listening, reliable, equan, sober, honest, Jay Powell is not flamboyant. But he is one of those who do their job well, and who seek compromises rather than chaos. It has a sense of public interest pegged to the body. In 2011, he convinced the Republicans to vote to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a crisis. This former wealthy business lawyer had also joined the Bipartisan Policy Center in 2010, a think tank seeking to establish bridges between Republicans and Democrats.

The irony of history is that it was Donald Trump who appointed him president of the Fed to replace Janet Yellen in 2018, because he was less hawk than many republicans … At the time, the Democrats were worried. With his Wall Street label (he notably worked for Carlyle Group, one of the biggest investment funds in the world), will he not unravel the regulations? He is not even an economist … However, Powell will show that he is a hard worker and that he can hold the bar of the powerful American federal reserve for periods of turbulence, whether it is the first mandate of Trump or the Pandemic of Cavid.