Kevin Warsh can’t succeed without help from the White House

Kevin Warsh faces a truly daunting task. The new chairman of the Federal Reserve must avoid provoking a president he had to charm to get the job. He needs to repair relations with the Fed’s other policymakers, many of whom he recently criticized — not least, former Chair Jerome Powell, who remains on the central bank’s board for now. While contending with all that, he must also affirm the Fed’s commitment to get inflation back down to 2%. After his first meeting as leader of the Fed’s policymaking committee, Warsh left no doubt that he means to make a difference. But rising to these challenges — while achieving steady growth and stable prices — will require allies on the Federal Open Market Committee and room for maneuver from the White House. With luck, the president will see that an independent Fed is in his own interests, too. The most recent reading on inflation hasn’t helped. Tariffs and high energy costs thanks to the conflict with Iran have pushed consumer price inflation back above 4%. The annual rate has now been running at more than the 2% target for more thanWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times