The Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed, plays a significant role in the American economy and thus has partial responsibility for the current economic downturn. As a result, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) is renewing calls for Chair Jerome "Jay" Powell to resign his post, saying his "failed leadership" of a Federal Reserve that "has grossly mismanaged U.S. monetary policy."
Sen. Scott's fiery demand came shortly after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) began its final meeting of 2023 to discuss interest rates, which are expected to remain around 5.25-5.5.0%. However, keeping interest rates high has concerned analysts and investors, as this could negatively affect the economy and the stock market. However, Powell has stated policy decisions are decided "meeting by meeting."
This statement did not seem to sit well with Sen. Scott, who said the Fed under Powell is "accountable to no one and dangerously manipulating U.S. markets and growing its balance sheet to an unsustainable $7.7 TRILLION" and that "He has failed to meet his own weak goals of balance sheet reduction."
Moreover, Scott estimated that Powell's policies have cost taxpayers more than $1 trillion, "kicking them while they are down" in conjunction with the economic policies of the Biden Administration.
"Jay Powell should make just one announcement at tomorrow’s press conference: that he will immediately resign in disgrace," Scott concluded.
This is not the first time the Florida Senator has sought to rein in the Fed and oust its Chair Powell, working with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in March to introduce legislation creating an independent Inspector General to oversee the Reserve.
In May, Scott and Sen. Warren introduced an additional bill imposing membership restrictions for members of the Fed's boards of directors. July saw Scott introduce three further bills to grant Congress oversight abilities and capping the balance sheet to 10% of the nation's GDP.
However, August saw Scott directly call for Powell's resignation for the first time ahead of an economic symposium, saying Powell "didn’t talk about how reckless government spending continues to hurt our economy & fuel rising prices. It’s time for Jay Powell to resign," on X (formerly Twitter).
