Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined the latest round of criticism for Washington’s response to recent economic instability, leveling sharp criticism for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
According to the Massachusetts Democrat and former 2020 presidential candidate, Powell has overseen a sharp increase in inflation and the fallout of recent banking failures.
Warren was blunt in her assessment.
“I don’t think he should be chairman,” she said.
Elizabeth Warren: Fed Chair Powell wants to ‘put millions of people out of work’ to fight inflationhttps://t.co/12ebKxnlpa pic.twitter.com/u2skRybpK3
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) March 20, 2023
Warren appeared on several Sunday news programs and stated similar criticisms of the Federal Reserve chair.
The senator told Face the Nation that “Powell just literally took a flamethrower” to banking regulations. Warren voted against Powell’s nomination in 2018.
“I said he was a dangerous man to have in this position,” she said.
Warren also said that Powell “clearly fell down on the job” regarding the recent collapse of financial institutions starting with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
During Warren’s interview on Meet the Press, she said that Powell’s actions towards inflation have been poor, accusing the chair of “trying to, in effect, slow down the economy,” which she said would cost two million jobs.
Warren said that the chair should lose his job.
“He has had two jobs. One is to deal with monetary policy. One is to deal with regulation. He has failed at both,” she said.
The Democrat’s criticism echoes that of many conservatives, who believe that the Federal Reserve’s actions since the collapse of SVB on March 10 have been a form of a bailout.
Economist Mohamed El-Erian told Fox News that the central bank’s response to the banking crisis is setting up an economic “perfect storm.”
He criticized the Fed’s initial assessment of inflation as transitory.
“You had a bank that grew enormously under the nose of the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Reserve did not pay enough attention,” he said.
El-Arian compared the Fed’s actions to driving in fog, then panicking and hitting the brakes.
“You will cause financial accidents— and you may even cause economic accidents in terms of a recession,” the economist said.
