Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen confirmed to Congress that she will not be stepping down before her term is over.
The question was presented to her Thursday as president-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Yellen, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed Ben Bernanke. With the idea that Trump would somehow shake up the United States central bank and apply some political pressure, some believed that Yellen would resign. But ostensibly that won’t be happening.
“No I cannot,” she said. “I was confirmed by the Senate to a four-year term, which ends at the end of January of 2018, and it is fully my intention to serve out that term.”
If Trump were to look for somebody else in 2018, Trump could still serve as a member of the Board of Governors until her 14-year term comes to an end in 2024.
Yellen also hinted that the Fed would raise interest rates at next month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Despite Trump’s regular complaints about Yellen and the Fed, he did note in May that he is not her enemy (SEE: Donald Trump assures Janet Yellen he’s not her enemy, Federal Reserve audit isn’t high priority).
“I’m not a person that thinks Janet Yellen is doing a bad job. I happen to be a low interest rate person, unless inflation rears its ugly head, which could happen at some point. It doesn’t seem like it’s happening any time soon. I don’t think I want to at this point – I mean, number one, she’s got time left,” explained Trump.
“I would rather have a Republican in the position, but I am not the enemy of Janet Yellen. … Look, if interest rates were raised and if the dollar went up more, we’d be doing no business. We’re being killed by other countries devaluing their currencies.”
Although he was one of the only 2016 candidates for the Oval Office to even mention the central bank, Trump flip flopped on a number of issues pertaining to the Fed and monetary policy.
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