DeSantis a hard ‘no’ on reappointing Jerome Powell to the Federal Reserve
TALLAHSSSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis would not reappoint Jerome Powell as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve if elected president.
Powell was elevated to chairman in February 2018 by former President Donald Trump. He was originally appointed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by former President Barack Obama.
DeSantis made the comments on an interview with CNBC.
“Would you renominate [Jerome] Powell as the Federal Reserve chair, if elected?” he was asked.
“No,” the governor replied.
“I don’t think he’s done a good job,” DeSantis said. “I think from COVID-on, they put too much money into the economy, that drove the inflation.”
“But then, they said it was going to be transitory, that we had to unlearn Milton Friedman. No. When you start doing something like that, it’s about 18 to 20 months, you are going to see inflation,” he added.
“They were behind the ball on that. And then they’ve hiked so much now, it’s caused a lot of problems in the economy and could end up driving us into a recession.”
The governor slammed the Federal Reserve’s latest interest hikes last month and derided federal spending habits.
“With the latest hike, Americans are now facing the highest interest rates in over 20 years,” DeSantis said. “The pain Americans are feeling is a direct result of the federal government borrowing and spending trillions of dollars since March 2020.”
“Politicians stroke checks they will never have to pay while buying a home or a car has become out-of-reach for many Americans.”
DeSantis has increasingly blasted inflation in the U.S. as it continued under President Joe Biden.
“Biden could unleash domestic energy production to provide relief,” DeSantis said after an inflation report was released last year, revealing a 40-year high. “Instead, he is content watching people suffer.”
“Bidenomics” is a term modernly used to describe the economic situation under the Biden administration.
“Well, I can tell you what Bidenomics is,” DeSantis said in June. “It is: everybody pays more for basic staples of life. People are paying way more for groceries, they’re paying way more for other necessities like utilities. The cost of buying a new home has gone up dramatically because all the materials have gone up.”
