The Obama administration has nominated two new Federal Reserve candidates, a Democrat and a Republican, probably in an attempt to prevent a filibuster. The first is Jeremy Stein, your obligatory Harvard economist.
The second pick is clearly a meant to be a piece of darkly hilarious performance art. President Obama has selected former Carlyle partner Jerome Powell to one of the seats. Carlyle is the most politically connected private equity group in the world, founded by former Carter White House official David Rubenstein with major holdings in defense, telecom, technology, software, and Dunkin Donuts. From 1998-2005, Powell founded and led the Industrial Group within the Carlyle group’s U.S. Buyout Fund.
No worries, though, Fed terms are only for fourteen years, so if either of these is a bad pick we can totally reverse course in 2026. Confirm these guys quick, Mr. Senate. And can we all have a slow clap for the administration?
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