A Look Back at Jerome Powell’s Tenure as FOMC Chair

Jerome Powell served two terms as Chair of both the Federal Reserve and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). His tenure spanned two presidencies, three Treasury Secretaries, and 68 interest-rate decisions. All things considered, the monetary policy era under Powell has been one of the most challenging periods in the Federal Reserve’s modern history.

Key Takeaways

• During the eight years of Jerome Powell’s tenure as FOMC Chair, which spanned February 2018 to May 2026, he navigated COVID-19, a 40-year inflation high, the fastest tightening cycle in modern Fed history, and regional banking stress.
• The pandemic response was unprecedented in scale. The Fed cut rates to near-zero, launched open-ended asset purchases, and expanded the balance sheet from $4.2 trillion to a peak of $8.9 trillion in effort to stabilize markets.
• The 2022-2023 tightening cycle was the most aggressive in modern Fed history. After holding rates near zero through 2021, the FOMC initiated 11 consecutive rate increases totaling 525 basis points over 16 months. The federal funds rate peaked at 5.25%–5.50% in July 2023, marking the most restrictive policy stance since the early 2000s.
• The baton passes to Kevin Warsh with the next challenge framed as building a durable long-term framework rather than crisis response.