Kai Risdahl

Powell gave an emergency press conference as the Fed acted to stabilize the pandemic economy.

We're really going to use our tools to do what we need to do here, which is restore these important markets to normal function.

FOMC meetings were on Zoom for a while.

The economy rebounded.

And then inflation picked up.

We took a step back from transitory.

We said expected to be transitory.

Oops.

I think we have to be humble about our ability to forecast.

Inflation hit a 40-year high, which pushed the Fed to hike interest rates 11 times.

I wish there were a painless way to do that.

There isn't.

President Biden reappointed Powell.

And when President Trump got reelected...

Tons of threats to Fed independence, which reporters would not stop asking Powell about.

I think I did answer that question in this very room.

As I've said countless times over the years, no desire to change that answer and have nothing new for you on that today.

There were Supreme Court arguments over an attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, a DOJ investigation into Powell himself, more tariffs, the biggest energy shock in decades, a new guy is one step closer to Powell's job, and that's what you missed on FOMC.

J.C.

Bolden and Maria Hollenhorst put that one together for us.