DeSantis: I Wouldn’t Renominate Powell for Another 4-Year Fed Chair Term, He Put Too Much Money into Economy

During an interview with CNBC on Monday aired on Monday’s broadcast of “Last Call,” 2024 Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that if he is elected president, he would not renominate Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell to another four-year term running the Federal Reserve because the Federal Reserve under Powell, “from COVID on,” “put too much money into the economy, that drove the inflation.” And then inaccurately forecast that inflation was going to be transitory, and now has jacked up interest rates so much, “it’s caused a lot of problems in the economy and could end up driving us into a recession.”

Host Brian Sullivan asked, “Would you renominate Jay Powell as the Federal Reserve Chair, if elected?”

DeSantis answered, “No.”

Sullivan then followed up, “Why not?”

DeSantis responded, “Well, I don’t think he’s done a good job. I think from COVID on, they put too much money into the economy, that drove the inflation. But then they said it was going to be transitory, that we had to unlearn Milton Friedman, no. When you start doing something like that, it’s about 18 to 20 months, you are going to see inflation. And so, they were behind the ball on that. And then they’ve hiked so much now, it’s caused a lot of problems in the economy and could end up driving us into a recession.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett