White House asking Senate Democrats to meet with Powell this month: report

The White House has called for a meeting between Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Democratic senators before Thanksgiving amid opposition from leading progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to his renomination, people familiar with the situation told Axios.

Powell was first nominated to the Fed chair position by former President Trump in 2017 and confirmed 84-13, but he has since drawn some pushback from both sides of the aisle.

Republicans have gone after the Fed for its monthly asset purchases, while Democrats dislike Powell’s support for loosening financial rules and say he has not done enough to tackle climate change. 

“Renominating you is gambling the next five years of a Republican majority on the Fed board and a Republican chair who has regularly voted to deregulate Wall Street won’t drive this economy off a financial cliff again,” Warren told Powell during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in September.

“With so many qualified candidates for this job,” she added, “this risk is not worth taking.”

Biden, however, has said he retains confidence in the central bank chief.

Powell would have to be voted into his position in an evenly divided 50-50 Senate. 

Sources told Bloomberg back in August that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen supported Powell being reappointed to his position.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.