FEDERAL RESERVE/GOP/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “After criticizing the Federal Reserve for the past eight years, Republicans have a chance to change the course of the central bank when President Donald Trump nominates someone to take the helm in early 2018. But they are divided over which direction monetary policy should take.
GOP efforts to subject the Fed to more scrutiny and limit its discretion gained traction in the wake of the financial crisis, especially in the House, and Republicans hammered Fed officials over why they continued to keep interest rates so low, saying the policy hurt savers and distorted markets. Now, with the prospect of a Republican-led tax cut and faster economic growth on the horizon, some in the party are wary of a choice that could disrupt markets or cut off growth by lifting rates higher to keep inflation under control…
The split is reflected in the slate of candidates President Donald Trump has homed in on as he nears a decision.”
-Kate Davidson, “GOP Divided Over Monetary Policy As Fed Chief Pick Looms,” The Wall Street Journal online, Oct. 19, 2017 05:00am