Vox Sentences - New chair, same as the old chair

President Joe Biden has decided the new Federal Reserve chair will be current chair Jerome Powell; protests erupt in Europe over Covid-19 lockdowns.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

"Stable leader" Jerome Powell gets a second term as Fed chair

Alex Wong/Getty Images

• President Joe Biden nominated Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to a second term on Monday, ensuring stable leadership amid rising inflation and the ongoing recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Lael Brainard, progressives’ choice to replace Powell, will serve as vice chair. [NYT / Jeanna Smialek and Jim Tankersley]
• Under Powell’s leadership, the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates low and invested billions in a bonds-buying program, which helped avert an economic depression during the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. [CNN]
• Biden’s choice of Powell — after months of speculation that he might choose Brainard — also sends the message that he supports a politically independent Federal Reserve. [Washington Post]
• As rising costs bring problems for consumers — and political problems for Biden — Powell promised the central bank would ease the burden on American families. “We will use our tools both to support the economy and a strong labor market and to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched,” Powell said Monday at a White House event. [Reuters]
• Although the Federal Reserve declared climate change a risk to the financial system for the first time under his watch, Powell still faces opposition from influential figures on the left including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ,who say the central bank isn’t taking decisive enough action to stop funding the fossil fuel industry or push banks to recognize the financial risks of global warming. [Politico / Victoria Guida]
• So far, Powell’s nomination is gaining support from both sides of the aisle; Sen. Warren, however, is expected to oppose Powell for previously supporting deregulation of Wall Street. [The Hill / Sylvan Lane]

Covid-19 lockdown protests rock Europe

• Thousands protesting against Covid-19 restrictions took to streets across Europe over the weekend as rising infections, hospitalizations , and deaths have forced a number of governments to reimpose lockdown measures. [CNN /  Rob Iddiols and Jo Shelley]
• European cities including Brussels, Rome, Amsterdam, and Zagreb saw massive demonstrations that in some cases turned violent. [CNBC / Holly Ellyatt]
• An estimated 40,000 people — including right-wing groups and conspiracy theorists — took to the streets of Vienna on Saturday to protest against Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg's announcement that the country would enter a partial lockdown for a maximum of 20 days for the vaccinated and mandate vaccinations from February next year. [The Hill / Monique Beals]
• Germany could be the next country to see protests, as acting Chancellor Angela Merkel warns that current measures are not enough to curb soaring infection rates particularly for the elderly — many of whom have not received a booster since getting their first two jabs — and children who are not yet eligible to receive a vaccine. [Reuters / Maria Sheahan]

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Wisconsin police charged 39-year-old Darrell E. Brooks with intentional homicide after he drove an SUV into a parade Sunday afternoon, killing at least five people and leaving dozens more, including many children, injured. [CBS/ Alex Sundby, Pat Milton, and Andres Triay]

• Chile’s right wing is celebrating the victory of José Antonio Kast, a far-right candidate in the first round of presidential elections over progressive leader Gabriel Boric on Sunday; the race heads to a run-off on December 19.  [Guardian / John Bartlett]
• A jury heard closing arguments Monday in the trial of three white men accused of killing Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery. [USA Today / N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Raisa Habersham, and Grace Hauck]
• Two Fox News employees resigned from Fox News over Tucker Carlson’s “irresponsible” special on the January 6 insurrection. [NPR / David Folkenflik]

“All Americans are feeling inflation. Biden is saying, 'I am trusting my political future in this Fed leadership. I trust them to get inflation under control.”

[Narayana Kocherlakota, former president of the Minneapolis Fed, tells CNN about the implications of Biden's nomination of Jerome Powell to a second term as Federal Reserve Chair]

Today, Explained has been exploring the future of work. In the final episode of the series, Sean Rameswaram and team explore how retirement stopped being something to look forward to, and became something to fear. [Spotify]

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