However, Powell is also expected to face ethical scrutiny after the newspaper The New York Times reported new details last week about Fed Vice President Richard Clarida’s activity in the stock market in February 2020, just weeks before he plummeted as the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The Fed then aggressively intervened to stop a further liquidity crisis.
In a letter sent Monday, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, citing reports from the Times, asked “that the Federal Reserve (…) publish all available information on the operations of Fed officials” by next Monday.
The Fed announced stricter investment rules in October after a controversy over the activities of Powell and two other top officials, who ended up resigning.
Powell’s testimony Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee comes after President Joe Biden nominated him for a second term at the helm of the central bank, as the US economy faces a wave of record inflation that has led critics to accuse the Fed of complacency.
