Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, nearing the end of his second four-year term as the chairman of America’s central bank, seems exhausted with the spotlight. After months of being badgered by President Donald Trump to cut interest rates, to having the tone of his “good afternoon” hyper-analyzed by “Fed watchers,” Powell has a message for the markets, the media, and the political class: Calm down.
Powell spent the last part of his discussion at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce Tuesday reflecting on the central bank’s visibility and whether its role is being blown out of proportion.
“I think we get a disproportionate amount of attention compared to the things that really matter for the country,” Powell said. “The things that Congress can do and the private sector can do, those are the things that will really matter for future generations, not interest rate policy.”
From the man whose words move markets in seconds, it was a striking admission. Investors and journalists regularly parse his press conferences for hints about upcoming rate cuts or hikes, trying to get ahead of the market; even the suggestion of a pause or a pivot can set off rallies or selloffs on Wall Street.
Powell, though, reminded his audience that the Fed’s tools are narrow, almost predictable.
“We have a really important job: maximum employment, price stability,” he said. “We regulate and supervise the banks. We operate parts of the payment system. But those things are really about cyclical demand management and financial stability.”
What really matters for America’s long-term trajectory, he argued, is investment in people. Education, workforce training, and productivity growth are the levers that determine whether the next generation is better off than the last, and he emphasized that the U.S. educational sector particularly needs investment to keep up with record technological advancement.
The comments come at a time when the Fed itself has become unusually politicized. Trump has accused Powell of sabotaging his presidency by keeping rates too high, while actively working to influence the Fed with a new appointee, Stephen Miran, and by attempting to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook on the grounds that she falsified housing records. Federal appeals courts have twice denied Trump’s attempts to fire Cook.
Powell, during his discussion, brushed off the noise, dismissing accusations of political bias as a “cheap shot.”
“Our argument is doing our jobs,” Powell said. “We don’t get into back and forth with external people. We just do our jobs. We keep our head down and do our jobs.”