AOC, 'Squad' demand Biden pick Fed chair focused on left-wing issues
Liberals are split on the idea of reappointing Powell as Fed chairman
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and a handful of her "Squad" colleagues in Congress are demanding that President Biden pick a new chair of the Federal Reserve that would follow a left-wing agenda.
The Fed chair’s term is set to end in February and the potential reappointment of Jerome Powell to the post has liberals split on the issue.
On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez, alongside her progressive allies Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., called on Biden to replace him once his current term expires.
The "Squad" members specifically said that their dream replacement for Powell would be someone whose priorities are in line with left-wing issues, such as climate change and "advancing racial and economic justice."
POWELL’S PRESS CONFERENCE, FEDERAL RESERVE MEETING: LIVE UPDATES
"As news of the possible reappointment of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell circulates, we urge President Biden to re-imagine a Federal Reserve focused on eliminating climate risk and advancing racial and economic justice," the lawmakers told POLITICO in a joint statement. "We urge the Biden Administration to use this opportunity to appoint a new Federal Reserve Chair."
The lawmakers said that Powell "has made positive changes" in his time running the Fed but claimed "the Federal Reserve has taken very little action to mitigate the risk climate change poses to our financial system."
They also said that they believe the Fed needs "a leader at the helm that will take bold and decisive action to eliminate climate risk" and took aim at the Fed’s moves under Powell to loosen restrictions on big banks.
"Weakening financial regulations that were specifically created to prevent such a disaster from happening again risks the livelihoods of Americans across the country," the lawmakers also said. "To move forward with a whole of government approach that eliminates climate risk while making our financial system safer, we need a Chair who is committed to these objectives."
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Powell was first nominated for his position by former President Obama and eventually ascended to his role under former President Trump’s administration.