“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”
Don’t count Janet Yellen out of the race for Fed Chair yet – or at least not until Trump has had a chance to sit across from here at a table and gauge her willingness to pledge undying loyalty to his “cause.”
Although we’d imagine Powell will remain the favorite for the time being given Mnuchin’s endorsement, Politico is out reporting that Trump is set to meet with Yellen. Here’s more:
President Donald Trump plans to formally interview Janet Yellen this week about potentially staying on as Federal Reserve chair, two people familiar with the matter said.
Many Republicans on Capitol Hill want Trump to move on from Yellen, whose first term ends in February, and choose a more traditionally conservative Fed chair.
New presidents typically renominate Fed chairs they inherited for an additional term. But Trump tends to prefer changing personnel and policies left over from his predecessor.
An exact time for the Trump-Yellen meeting is not yet set but is expected this week, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting could slip to next week depending on the president’s schedule, the people said.
Of course nothing says Yellen is actually interested in serving under this President and indeed, at least one of her former colleagues has encouraged her to turn down an appointment.
At the very least, we hope she brings this up when she finally does sit down with Trump…
Meanwhile, Trump is said to have been impressed with John Taylor after an hour-long interview at the White House last week. Warsh is apparently out – or at least he’s unlikely to get the job. Amusingly, officials who spoke to Bloomberg wouldn’t say exactly what’s led Warsh’s star to fall, but we’ve got a pretty good idea and it has nothing to do with his “academic credentials.”
Oh, and as a reminder:
Why shouldn’t she take it? The only reason I can think of would be that Trump appoints a bunch of people who want to take things in a different direction than she does, but if that’s the case then presumably she won’t be offered the reappointment. The Fed chair doesn’t really have to worry about what the president who appointed her thinks, especially if this is her last term, which it probably would be.
Ahh, but will she kiss his ring and swear personal loyalty to his majesty Trump – like Comey refused to do.
It’s just one person on a committee. The scary thing is that with so many terms ending at the Fed, he gets to appoint the chair, vice chair and most of the governors. No president before has ever had such an opportunity to shape this most-influential institution. Even if Trump goes away, his appointments continue on for many years. And they’re likely to be extremely dovish on balance because based on his public statements lately, Trump appears to favour ZIRP and even outright debt repudiation. If so, then sadly the US should begin reliving the economic malaise, decline and stagflation it suffered in the 1970-82 period, or worse.