‘Powell’s time is up’: Here’s where 2024 Republican presidential candidates rank for Fed chair

• Several 2024 Republican presidential candidates have criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and monetary policy under his leadership.
• Powell’s term ends in 2026, and some Republican presidential hopefuls have suggested that if elected they would remove him, while others said they would not reappoint the president.
• “I would fire him. And the reason is that he has raised interest rates at the wrong time. I think he has been more aggressive than necessary,” former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson told Bloomberg.

Several Republican presidential candidates have an overwhelmingly negative view of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and have vowed to oust him or appoint a new leader if he is elected president in 2024.

The Federal Reserve has increase its benchmark federal funds rate 11 times since March 2022, bringing the rate to a range of 5.25% and 5.50% in an attempt to cool inflation and the economy. Powell’s term ends in 2026, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy have said they would impeach the president, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence said that they would do it. not re-appoint him if elected, in accordance with their respective campaigns and public comments on the issue.

“Well, of course he has a mandate, but I would like to see a new leader at the Federal Reserve,” Hutchinson. said Bloomberg on September 12, which his campaign targeted the Daily Caller News Foundation toward. “I would fire him. And the reason is that he has raised interest rates at the wrong time. I think he has been more aggressive than necessary.”

Inflation pointed for the Biden administration in June 2022, reaching 9.1%, eventually dropping to a low of 3.0% in June. Since then, inflation has started to rise again, growing 3.2% year-on-year in July and 3.7% in August.

“[Ramaswamy has] “He’s talked quite a bit about reforming the Federal Reserve by cutting more than 90% of its staff and refocusing on a limited mandate: stabilizing the U.S. dollar as a unit of measurement,” campaign spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told DCNF. “It is a fundamental step to boost GDP growth and avoid financial crises.”

The chairman of the Federal Reserve has never been removed before the end of his term, and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 requires “cause” to remove someone from the position. according to Fox Business.

“I don’t think he did a good job,” DeSantis said CNBC’s Brian Sullivan on August 14: “I mean, I think coming out of COVID they put too much money into the economy. That fueled inflation. But then they said it was going to be temporary, that we had to “unlearn Milton Friedman.” No. When you start doing something like that, in about 18 to 20 months you will see inflation. “So they were behind that, and then they went up so much that it has caused a lot of problems in the economy and could end up leading us into a recession.”

Although Trump nominated Powell in 2017, he would not reappoint Powell to the position if he returns to the White House in 2024.

“I wouldn’t name him again. “I thought I was always late, whether it was good or bad, but I was always late,” Trump said Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow on August 17. “I was surprised they re-elected him; they probably reappointed him because they knew I didn’t like him very much.”

President Joe Biden reappointed Powell for another term in 2021, according to a White House news release.(RELATED: ‘Disheartening’: Small Business Owners Sour Economy as Inflation Picks Up)

Pence mentioned a former Trump nominee as a possible contender he would appoint to the Federal Reserve if elected president in 2024. according to Bloomberg.

“Jerome Powell’s time is up,” Pence told radio host Erik Erikson on August 18, according to Bloomberg, where his campaign took aim at the DCNF. “I would love to see someone like Judy Shelton appointed to the Federal Reserve.”

Trump nominated Shelton to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2020, but he was not approved by the Senate, according to Bloomberg. Trump renominated Shelton just before leaving office in 2021.

“I think the time has come to end the dual mandate of the Federal Reserve and say that the Federal Reserve should focus exclusively on the integrity of the dollar, fighting inflation,” Pence added, according to the outlet.

Currently, the Federal Reserve operates under a dual mandate, which is to promote price stability by keeping the inflation rate at a target of 2%, while maintaining maximum sustainable employment by keeping unemployment low and job creation high. . according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

The Fed will have its next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee from on Tuesday, and whether there will be another rate hike will be announced on Wednesday. powell noted at the Jackson Hole Economic Summit in August that the Federal Reserve could continue raising rates if high inflation persists or if there are signs of a booming economy or labor market.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 23: Republican presidential candidates (LR), former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former US Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, former Ambassador UN Secretary-General Nikki Haley, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum participate in the first debate of the Republican primary season. (McNamee/Getty Images)

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and conservative radio host Larry Elder have not made clear what they would do as president about Powell’s position.

Christie has floated the idea of ​​keeping Powell as Fed chair if he is elected president in 2024 and instead blamed Trump and Biden for inflation. according to CNBC.

“It depends on how he does going forward,” Christie told CNBC on September 5, which his campaign referred to the DCNF.

Elder did not comment on Powell’s position, but blamed “reckless spending” for being in a position to consider replacing the Fed chair.

“Well, if it weren’t for reckless spending and ‘quantitative easing,’ also known as money printing, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Elder told the DCNF in a statement. “We need to go back to the gold standard and pass an amendment to set spending at a fixed percentage of GDP.”

The RealClara Policy (RCP) average for the 2024 national Republican primary, according to polls conducted between August 24 and September 14, indicates that Trump leads the crowded field by more than 40 points, followed by DeSantis with 12.7% and Ramaswamy with 7, 2%. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley garnered 5.7% support and Pence received 4.5%, while all other 2024 hopefuls garnered less than 3% support.

The Federal Reserve Board declined to comment. Trump, Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum did not immediately respond to DCNF’s requests for comment.

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