Jerome Powell Confirmed For Federal Reserve Chairman Post

WASHINGTON, DC — Jerome Powell, President Donald Trump's pick to succeed Janet Yellen as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve next month, has been approved by the Senate. The vote on Tuesday was 85-12 to confirm Powell to lead America's central bank.

The post is widely considered the most powerful economic position in government.

Yellen was the first woman to lead the Fed. Her term ends on Feb. 3.

Trump opted not to offer her a second four-year term despite widespread praise for her performance.

Powell, 64, has served for on the Fed's board for nearly six years. He's an attorney and investment manager by training and will become the first Fed leader in four decades who won't have an advanced degree in economics.

Powell previously said he expects the Fed will continue gradually increasing interest rates to support its goals of maximum employment and stable prices. Under his leadership, the Fed would look at loosening bank regulations, but keeping significant reforms Congress passed to try to prevent another financial crisis, he said.

"We will continue to consider appropriate ways to ease regulatory burdens while preserving core reforms ... so that banks can provide the credit to families and businesses necessary to sustain a prosperous economy," he testified.

Among those reforms, Powell mentioned the stricter standards for capital and liquidity that banks must maintain under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and the yearly "stress tests" that the biggest banks must undergo to show they could withstand a severe downturn.

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

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